


Monster Academy

by LunaStories



Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Death, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Monsters, but there is a happy ending so no worries, incubus!Sanji, vampire!Zoro, zoro/sanji - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-26
Updated: 2016-02-24
Packaged: 2018-03-19 17:21:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 38,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3617976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaStories/pseuds/LunaStories
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As the name suggests, it is an academy where monsters attend for two reasons: the first being to learn how to hide their identities and coexist with humans, the second is to find their destined mate. In this certain academy, Sanji is the ideal mate. Powerful and elusive.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Zoro/Sanji, Humor, character death (there is a definite happy ending though), angst
> 
> Edit 1/22/16: Currently slowly editing through all of my chapters. This fic was written through the course of many years and it was first written in my teenage years. Needless to say the writing style is not consistent. So I shall be editing them all up to the most recent chapters.

xxxxxx

Sanji walked down the hall of the academy, lighting a cigarette, oblivious to the lust filled gazes of every student nearby concentrated on him. Surprisingly enough, everyone in the school was quite accommodating to him. He had expected worse, after all, this was a school for monsters. He considered himself a pretty accomplished 19-year-old man and had transferred to this academy in the middle of the school year. 

As its name suggests, Monster Academy is an academy built for monsters to attend and learn to coexist with humans. Though many monsters also joined for a secondary reason, to find a worthy and powerful mate.

Hidden from the rest of the world and secluded by magical barriers, this academy was both a college and high school for all monsters within the vicinity. Sanji, who had just transferred there, was in his second year of college. 

He walked over to his locker and noticing the girl who had a locker next to him, noodle danced a bit before proclaiming his undying love for her. He carelessly threw his cigarette off to the side before giving the lady a kiss on the hand.   


He then grabbed his books and headed to his next class, failing to notice the dazed girl being dragged off by the "Prince Sanji" fan club to meet her potential doom. Cries of "How dare you touch Prince Sanji!" and the such were heard but Sanji, who had went inside his classroom by then, failed yet again to notice and save the poor girl.

"Sorry I'm late." Sanji said, and formally bowed to the teacher while every student in the room lost all concentration and instead focused on sweeping every inch of Sanji's body with their eyes.

As many may have already guessed, Sanji is the most desired 'mate' of every student in the academy. Gender rarely mattered as most went for the most powerful monsters. The more powerful a monster’s mate was, the more their status in society was elevated. Many craved the power and status Sanji could potentially bring them.

Being an incubus*, Sanji was only recently enlisted into the school, having lived in the human world most of his life. What he lacked in knowledge of monster etiquette, he made up for in raw power.

Though Sanji willfully ignores his classmates' advances and subtle touches, he is aware that something is going on in this school.

Almost everyone in the school wanted Sanji for one reason or the other. His attractiveness was also a definite bonus. As was his rumored flexibility that could be used in many, many ways.

Note the ‘almost’. After all, there was one green-haired vampire that Sanji had yet to meet. 

A Marimo that wanted nothing to do with monster politics and a Cook that was still trying to adapt to the hierarchy in the school. What could possibly go wrong?

  
_ TBC _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment if you enjoy :) I cherish each and every one.
> 
> *Incubus: A seductive demon from hell that is male, they are said to seduce woman and men alike to suck all their life energy which increases their powers. They have silky bat wings, small fangs, and can grow their nails at will to attack with them. Don't underestimate their nails, they are able to cut full trees in half just from the air displacement made by moving a nail.
> 
> Edit 1/22/16: I cringe at my old writing oh god. Hopefully I fixed it up a bit. If there is a disparity in tones in the next chapters that’s only because they haven’t been fixed yet. I shall do that in due time.


	2. Crash of Fate

xxxxxx

**Loners will be Loners. Until a random monster crashes into them.**

xxxxxx

Sanji stared out of the window listlessly. The sky was dark and gloomy with hints of lightning and thunderstorms. No rain though. After a few weeks here, he was pretty much used to the abnormal weather. The forest surrounding the perimeters of the school was filled with unknown screeching and screams. Lovely. All he wanted to do was go home, back to his human foster father in the normal human world. It wasn't like he didn't like this school; after all, everyone was  _very_  nice to him, so nice that they sometimes even get a little touchy-feely around him.

For his whole life until he came here, he had went to normal human schools, but because of an incident where he was running away from a group of hormone induced guys, he accidentally used his wings to try to get away and it got ripped when it caught on a nearby tree branch. The pain made him fall to a stop and the guys had almost caught him but luckily he had run until he was about half a block from his house and his father saved him. Don't get Sanji wrong, he could have saved himself but he couldn't control his own powers and he might have killed them.

The guys never knew what hit them when he used his powers to erase their memories and as an extra for causing him to get hurt, used his nails to give them scratch marks so deep that they would die from blood loss. The monster in him wanted them to slowly bleed to death but because he had lived with Zeff his whole life, his conscience won over and he called the ambulance; leaving them on the street.

That was when Zeff had found out that he was an incubus. He thought that Zeff would throw him out since he didn't think Zeff wanted a… _monster_  when he went to the adoption center; but Zeff surprised him by scolding Sanji for never telling him and lecturing him on being more careful from now on. That day, Zeff hadn't just saved his physical body; he had saved his  _soul_  by accepting him unconditionally. If monsters had a soul, that is.

Sanji sighed again as he remembered more of that day.

That day, Zeff tried his best to patch up his wings but he wasn't a doctor so he couldn't do much. That was when these people (Or monsters, they could just be in human form) came to their door claiming that they could help him and that they knew of a safe haven for monsters like him. Zeff was skeptical at first, (After all, they were clad in suspicious black robes) but nevertheless, he had no choice but to let Sanji go since the wound had started getting infected. He also thought it was a good idea for Sanji to go since this wasn't the first time that guys (and girls) had tried to take him and do  _stuff_  to him. Since, from what those creepy guys said, monsters have a greater resistance (Because they have their own demonic energy which counters Sanji's) for Sanji's incubus pheromones than normal humans.

There had been no tearful goodbyes, after all, they both believed they would see each other again; but once Sanji left the house he had lived in his whole life, he felt pain worse than what happened to his wing.

While Sanji sat in the car with those weird guys, he became curious and asked them how they knew he was hurt. They readily had an answer as if they knew he would ask this and replied that they had always been watching him (Talk about creepy!) since incubuses are rare these days. They also said something about incubuses being at "The top of the food chain" as they call it, and possessing many powers that even they didn't know the extent of; since, as they said before incubuses are too rare for them to even catch a glimpse of one. When they arrived he had his wing treated and ended up going to school here.

Thus, here he was, in this school full of monsters like him and bored out of his mind. The weird guys were right about one thing though, the monsters here had a higher resistance to Sanji's pheromones and so far, he hadn't been attacked yet. He was actually kind of disappointed since back in the human world, he got some action each week kicking those creepers asses; but here, he had no one to 'play' with. He couldn't just start a fight for no reason no matter how bored he was.

"…and that's the end of today's lesson, please remember to review those chapters!" said the teacher as the bell rang and all the students started filing out.

Sanji snapped out of his daze, packed his stuff, and proceeded to follow the rest of the class out the door. He always waited until he was the last to leave because he didn't exactly enjoy being groped by a crowd of people.

 _Oh right, the doctor told me to exercise my wings everyday to get them back in shape._  With that thought, Sanji headed for the forest where there was more room for him to practice.

When he met the doctor he was pretty surprised to find a cute little tanuki on two feet, but when Sanji asked the doctor if he was a tanuki, he was even more surprised when the tanuki turned big and screamed at him that he was NOT a tanuki! He was a reindeer! Yup, that was one weird doctor. But other than that, he was pretty okay and seemed embarrassed when Sanji complimented the patching of his wings.

Sanji stepped outside the school and unfurling his wings, took off into the sky heading for the forest; leaving behind a group of students dazed from the sudden gust of pheromones.

He circled the forest a few times and just when he decided that was enough and headed toward the school, a gust of wind disrupted his flight and he fell, down through the trees (He had enough sense to put his wings back in since he didn't want a repeat of what happened with those guys).

He landed right on his ass…but it didn't hurt at all. He cocked his head in confusion before looking behind him and saw a tuft of green.

 _Oh, I fell on a bush. How lucky._ He laughed at his good luck but stopped when he heard a muffled voice. He looked around in confusion before figuring out that the voice was coming from under him.

 _Holy fuck. The bush is talking!_  He contemplated whether he should kill it since a talking bush was pretty creepy when he noticed that the 'bush' was connected to…a body.

He raised a curled eyebrow in confusion before putting two and two together and realizing that this was not a bush. It was most definitely not a bush as can be seen by the hands suddenly lifting him up, off the 'bush'.

In the process, he groaned in annoyance. It hadn't even been two weeks and he had already made an enemy. Incredible.

Sanji laughed. But, this time it was at his bad luck.

TBC

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah the first chapters are pretty much all crack.
> 
> Comments appreciated.


	3. Fights and Lust

xxxxxx

Zoro was rudely awakened when an annoying baggage fell on him. He growled and lifted the 'baggage' off, only to find that it was a very much alive, monster.

Zoro grinned maliciously and sat up as he thought about all the things he could do to the bastard.

xxxxxx

Sanji swallowed nervously, stood up, and dusted himself off. The evil glint in the man's grin didn't help him feel any safer; he unknowingly backed up until he was a good ten feet away from the weirdo.

The man also followed his example and stood up; never breaking the glare he had on Sanji.

"You do know you're going to suffer for this, right?" said the green-haired man as he stalked toward Sanji.

Sanji snapped out of his fear and annoyance replaced it instead. Who did this Marimo think he was? No one threatens Sanji and gets away with it.

Sanji calmly took out a cigarette from the suit he was wearing and lit it.

Zoro stopped in his approach when he saw the change in attitude the man had. He was no longer cowering in fear and this confused Zoro greatly.

When the blond-haired man spoke, he was taken aback by the smooth seductive baritone he possessed. "Well, I admit it was my fault for falling but it's not my fault that you decided to sleep in this forest."

Zoro snapped out of the daze the man's voice caused him and instead glared intensely at the blond bastard. "I like sleeping here. You have a problem with that?"

"Nope, not at all. I was just thinking how much of a retard you are. Don't you hear the rumors about monsters disappearing in this forest and the such? You must be a real moron to sleep here." replied Sanji as he blew the smoke in the Marimo's direction on purpose to annoy him. He didn't know why, but something about the green-haired idiot made him want to rile him up.

Sanji succeeded when anger flashed in the Marimo's eyes and he drew one of the three swords on his haramaki. Wait three? Sanji's confusion was short-lived when he felt the air pressure change and saw the Marimo charging at him. He dropped his cigarette and readied his leg for the impact.

Sanji easily deflected the blade with his leg and pushed Zoro away, surprising him. He had thought the blond to be a pretty boy; nothing more than a pushover, but this, this was unexpected. He grinned in anticipation as to what else the blond could do and he felt his adrenaline spike. Zoro decided it was wise to go all out and pulled out his other two swords.

Sanji raised a curled brow as the Marimo put one of the swords in his mouth; he scoffed and almost laughed at the ridiculous sword style. Did he seriously think he could beat Sanji like that?

What ever other thoughts Sanji had, it was all thrown out the window; for Zoro had suddenly changed his aura and it was almost demonic as he charged at Sanji again.

This time, it took all of Sanji's strength to block the blades as they clashed with his leg. In fact, he lost a few hairs when the man swiped the sword in his mouth, almost chopping Sanji's head off. It was at that moment that Sanji thanked all the gods that he had amazing flexibility as he bent his back almost all the way back just fast enough to save his life.

Zoro's raised one brow when he saw the spectacle, accidentally loosening the push he had on the blonde's leg; this blond was not only good-looking, capable of holding his own against Zoro, but was also enticingly flexible. Interesting.

Sanji took advantage of Zoro's distraction as he shifted himself onto his hands and did a roundhouse kick, successfully knocking the swords out of Zoro's hands leaving him with only one sword, the one in his mouth.

They smirked at each other as Zoro shifted the blade into his hand and Sanji tapped the tip of his shoe onto the ground as he prepared himself for the next attack. They were enjoying this fight far too much to even remember nor care why they were fighting in the first place. It had been a very long time since either of them had a fight where the opponent could hold his own against them and they intended to take advantage of this opportunity to the fullest.

Unfortunately for them, their joy was short-lived when a teacher (If Sanji remembered correctly, the beautiful lady's name was Nami) suddenly appeared between the two of them, arms crossed and a frown etched on her face.

"Stop this at once and go back to your dorms!" She screeched and Zoro was about to protest when Sanji whirled to her and kissed her hand. The words caught in his throat as he was bewildered by the weird display.

"Of course my lady." mumbled Sanji humbly before bowing down to her and shooting a glare toward Zoro, walked away.

"Hey! Wait, our fight is not over!" called out Zoro, and Nami was just about to scold him when Sanji stopped turned his head back a bit.

With a seductive wave of his ass (In Zoro's view), Sanji chuckled and said "Don't worry, we'll finish this another time. The name's Sanji, find me and we'll finish this." before walking away.

Zoro gaped for a second or two before screaming back, hoping that Sanji would hear him. "My name's Zoro you Curly-brow! Remember that because that will be the name of the person that will own your ass!" Zoro's proclamation did not go unheard for an answering laugh echoed through the forest that seemed to flow over his body and envelop him in heat. He shivered at the weird sensation and blamed it on the cold.

xxxxxx

In the dorms later that day, Zoro lay on his bed musing about the weird blond he encountered today. He was curious as to what monster he was since most of the monster's human forms were not good looking at all, but Sanji's form was almost sinfully beautiful.

He groaned when he realized what thinking about the blond was doing to his body and opted to stop thinking about him, though to no avail. It wasn't wise to already start lusting for a person he wasn't even sure would return his affections.

The harder he tried to get to sleep and stop thinking about him, the more he thought about that ass. After all, he did get a face full of it and though he did start a fight, he found he didn't really mind. He groaned and decided that a cold shower would be very very wise right about now, and maybe some good hard training to get his body back in control.

xxxxxx

In another room, Sanji was talking excitedly about his encounter with Zoro to his friend, teacher, and confidant Ace. Ace was listening in amusement at Sanji's description of the battle and how it had ended.

"…and so, I gave him my name and he should be hunting me down pretty soon." finished Sanji happily as he shifted his cross-legged position on his bed because his legs fell asleep.

"Hmmm…" started Ace, as he also shifted his sitting position on Sanji's bed. "Well, it seems you're quite charmed by this 'Marimo' you speak about." smirked Ace when he saw Sanji stop his movements to think about it.

"Mmmm…not really. I just want to fight him again." smiled Sanji in that I-am-very-innocent way.

Ace almost groaned in annoyance at Sanji's obliviousness. When he first heard from the council that there would be another incubus joining the school he was very happy. After all, he was the only known individual of that species until Sanji had come. Thus, Ace was in charge of teaching Sanji all about the ways of seduction, charming, and even sex to the naive idiot. Though Ace was only one year older than Sanji, he beared the full responsibility of teaching Sanji about his lineage and the such.

It wasn't exactly Sanji's fault since he had lived with humans since birth but damn! There seriously should be a limit to the amount of things Sanji didn't know. He had wanted to 'play' with the him and it was then that he realized just how innocent Sanji was.

The added fact that Sanji was a womanizer didn't exactly help things either. Every species of monsters has their own 'prey' and their main prey is men since they had a greater life force which means more food, but if Sanji wasn't interested then there was nothing he could do. The man was as straight as a board and didn't even notice when men tried to flirt with him. So, of course, like the nice person he was, Ace gave up on doing anything inappropriate to Sanji and instead concentrated on teaching him seriously.

Though with the amount of pheromones that Sanji projected, he was extremely tempted to shove him on the nearest flat surface and just take him. Even though Ace was a incubus himself, he was able to control his pheromones; unlike Sanji who hadn't learned how to yet and just let his pheromones float around on full blast, enticing everyone and everything nearby to touch him. Only high level monsters were able to withstand the pheromones, but even Ace wasn't completely immune to it, and he's of the same species.

"…-ce…Ace!" Sanji snapped his fingers in front of Ace's face and he snapped out of his thoughts.

Sanji frowned and put one hand on Ace's forehead to feel his temperature causing Ace to moan in pleasure at the warm touch.

Sanji took this as a moan of pain and he furrowed his brow before saying "Ace, I think you should go back to your room and sleep. You seem to be in pain and you keep dazing off."

"Sure." replied Ace as he got off the bed and after saying good night to Sanji, left the room closing the door silently behind him. It was a very good idea to leave before he attacked the blond. "Damn him and his seducing looks…" mumbled Ace before yawning and headed to his own room.

Sanji lay down on his bed and closed his eyes, prepared to sleep. He dreamt of green hair, swords, and bushes that night; and he's never slept so well.

xxxxxx

_Oh shit!_  Thought Zoro as he raced through the corridors of the dorm trying to find the entrance/exit.

Last night he did not get an ounce of sleep and it had taken its toll on him. So when he finally fell asleep just minutes before the time he usually woke up, he failed to hear his alarm clock ringing.

Add on the fact that the dorm seemed to had magically reconstructed itself causing him to take forever to find the exit, well, he was about to blow a casket. Especially since his teacher was one hell of an annoying bastard, he seriously didn't want to face his wrath.

_Wait a sec…today's Thursday which means…_  Zoro gave a relieved sigh when he realized that he had remembered wrong and today was the day his favorite teacher was in. This particular teacher was very lenient and Zoro could be as late as he wanted and no trouble would come to him.

With this thought, he slowed down into a comfortable walk until he heard running noises from behind him.

He turned around and all he saw was golden hair before he was slammed into.

xxxxxx

Sanji had the exact same problem as Zoro (Well, except for the getting lost part) and was in a great rush to get to class. Even though the teacher today was lenient to everyone, he still didn't like to miss class since he wanted to learn as much as he could about monsters and stuff that he had missed his whole life.

In his rush, he didn't notice the man in front of him until his face became very intimate with his chest.

Sanji bowled into the other man causing him to fall with Sanji on top of him; Sanji sat up and rubbing his aching face, looked at the unfortunate fool who would face his wrath.

Sanji's face split into what Zoro later described as a 'shit-eating grin' when he realized who it was he was sitting on.

Zoro who was still dazed from getting his head knocked onto the hard floor, still managed to recognize the person above him as Sanji.

"YOU!" they both cried out at the same time; Sanji in joy while Zoro in annoyance and surprise.

"We seem to be in this position a lot, don't we?" smirked Sanji down at the victim of his accident.

Zoro growled and raised both hands to Sanji's hips to lift him off (Again) when Sanji shifted his position a bit.

Pleasure pulsed through him and Zoro immediately froze when he realized that Sanji was sitting with his ass on his crotch.

_Shiiiiit._  Zoro put both arms back down but used one to cover his eyes and cheeks, attempting to hide the blush that his arousal was causing him.

"Are you going to class too, Marimo?" asked Sanji, completely oblivious to the hard thing currently poking his ass.

"Y-yes." Zoro cursed himself for stuttering but he couldn't help it. Sanji kept moving around and it was all he could do not to moan.

"Hmm… you don't look too well." said Sanji, finally noticing the panting and redness of Zoro's ears. Sanji smirked when a thought came to him. "Did our fight yesterday really take that much out of you?" continued Sanji arrogantly; a bit happy that he was the one that caused Zoro to be this way (It IS Sanji who is making Zoro like this but for a different reason…)

Ignoring the heat in his groin, he raised his arm just enough for Sanji to see his glare before answering "No, with that weak strength of yours I didn't even break a sweat. Now get off of me."

Sanji's confidence faltered and he said "Oh, I forgot about our position…" and lifted himself off of Zoro in the most erotic way he had ever seen.

_Of course you 'forgot' you asshole! I'm reminded of our position every time you move!_ Was what Zoro wanted to say but that would only cause a lot of trouble that he did not want.

Sanji didn't even wait for Zoro and walked toward the exit on his own. After all, they weren't friends, they were far from that. So Sanji had every right not to wait for him.

But that was not what Zoro thought, he didn't want to wander around lost all day so he hurriedly stood up and followed Sanji.

Sanji noticed this and raised an eyebrow at it but otherwise ignored him, instead opting to reach his class as soon as possible.

Zoro was glad that Sanji didn't say anything; he really didn't want him to know that he was lost.

xxxxxx

They reached the class when it was halfway over and when Sanji noticed that Zoro seemed to be going to the same class as him, he had to admit he was surprised. If Zoro was indeed in the same class as him then how did he never notice him with that abnormal green hair of his?

Sanji decided class first, questions later and opened the door to his and Zoro's classroom.

The first thing that they both noticed was the utter silence in the room. They glanced at each other and both took a fighting stance since something seemed to be wrong.

They walked in carefully and were greeted with mixed projectiles of spears of fire and ice.

Zoro drew one of his swords and easily sliced the ice ones but the fire ones he dodged; Sanji also did this and they both calmed down when they recognized the attacks and realized what all this was about.

When other different forms of attacks came at them, they showed amazing teamwork and protected each other's backs; enjoying this now that they knew they were in no immediate danger.

"You can come out now, Luffy." called out Sanji as he kicked away the latest projectile.

"Awwww…you're no fun!" Sanji and Zoro smiled when they could practically hear the pout in his voice as he materialized sitting on top of the teacher's desk.

Luffy waved his hand and the rest of the students materialized; every one of them grinning.

Zoro laughed and running a hand through his hair, said "Sorry we're late, Luffy."

Luffy smiled and then said "Well, you're forgiven! It was fun dealing out 'punishment' to you guys for being late, anyways." he laughed before gesturing them to take their seats.

_And this is why this is my favorite class._  They both thought smiling, not knowing that they were thinking the same thing.

Sanji sat somewhere in the middle while Zoro sat all the way in the back, Sanji noticed this and realized this was why he never noticed Zoro.

_Hmm…he did seem like a loner. Well, go figure._  Sanji thought as the classmates around him congratulated him in successfully deflecting the attacks, lavishing him with compliments while Zoro was ignored.

_What a way to start the day._  Zoro thought, as he yawned and putting his head down, decided that now would be a good time to catch up on some sleep.

TBC

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the horrid writing. I literally wrote this 4 years ago.


	4. Crucial Information

**Okay, so this chapter is to explain how the system of the school works and other stuff. It is best if you guys pay attention for this so that you know what I'm talking about in the future.**

_**The School** _

**First of all, the school runs like a hierarchy. At the top is the 'principal' or, more formally known as The Headmaster. Nobody has ever seen his/her face except for a few select few in the school. They say that if you do get sent to the Headmaster's office, you will never come back alive.**

**Second in this power system is the Guardians. You can say they are what keeps the peace and order in the school. Not much is known about them either since they usually deal with trouble makers secretly. The only information about them is that there are four of them and they consist of elite monsters.**

**Thirdly is the teachers; in this school, a teacher's age does not matter. Rather, they look for skills, intelligence, and most importantly power in a monster before allowing them to teach. After all, the teacher has to be strong enough to contain the students in case anything happens. Take Luffy and Nami for example; they're like, 17 and they are highly respected and great teachers to boot. As you may already know, Luffy doesn't have intelligence (or at least acts like he doesn't) so what he lacks in that department, he makes up for it in raw power.**

**Fourthly is the students; there are individual gangs of troublemakers here and there but over the years the Guardians have disposed of most of them.**

_**The Monsters** _

**The elite monsters consist of six different branches: vampires, incubuses, fox demons, witches, ice demons, and werewolves.**

**After those six are the rest of the monsters, here I will list a few: ghouls, zombies, mermaids, sirens, banshees, ect.**

 


	5. Blood and Distractions

xxxxxx

**Being kidnapped is fun. Until you get distrac-Oh look, a butterfly.**

xxxxxx

He ran but he wasn't fast enough. It was catching up…that abominable horror, that… _monster_. He panted as he passed another tree, and another; though who was he to call that thing a monster, after all, he technically was one himself…

 _Soon._  He thought, soon he would be out of this damn forest and back to the school; back to safety.  _I have to warn them!_

He saw the rooftops in the distance and quickened his pace…but he was too late. A blood curling scream echoed through the forest as blood dripped its way down the hole in his chest, the last of his life ebbing away. The hand that impaled him slowly slid out of his body, letting it flop lifelessly on the moldy ground.

The murderer lifted his hand to his face and greedily lapped up the blood; he looked down at the dead body and murmured "What a waste of blood."

He delicately kneeled down next to the body and bending over the man's neck, sank his fangs into it and drank.

After he had drunk his fill, he stood up and wiped his bloodied mouth with his pale hand.

"Still not enough. More…"

xxxxxx

Sanji moaned as he felt something wet slide down his chest lower….lower….low-

"What the fuck?!" he screamed as he felt his pajama pants being pulled down.

He panted and glared at his molester, Ace who just grinned up at him smugly. Ace licked his lips and Sanji snapped as he literally kicked his ass out the door and slammed it in his face.

"Awww… don't be like that Sanji. You wouldn't wake up so I had to use other methods…" whined Ace, not guilty in the least.

"How did you even get in here?!" screamed Sanji as he flew around the room putting on clothes before Ace came in again and decided to continue molesting him. He clearly remembered locking the door before sleeping…

"I have my ways." replied Ace. Sanji could practically  _hear_  the smirk in those words; that bastard.

After Sanji got dressed and beat the shit out of Ace again, they both headed toward the school.

As they walked down the road, Sanji noticed that the students seemed to be more solemn than usual.

"Hey, Ace, don't you feel like something's wrong?" whispered Sanji as yet another student walked pass them, looking as if they were on the verge of crying.

Ace nodded and for once, he was silent as he slowly observed the weird atmosphere surrounding everyone.

xxxxxx

Ace and Sanji walked into their homeroom class and noticed the utter silence. That was usually not a good thing due to the fact that Luffy-sensei would never allow it to be so quiet.

They gave each other a wary glance before cautiously going to their own respective seat; Sanji in his usual seat and Ace in the seat next to him. Everyone seemed on edge and it was making Sanji very nervous; he looked around the room and when he caught Zoro's eyes, Zoro glared at him but it seemed half-hearted.

For once, Luffy was sitting in the teacher's chair and not on the desk; he had a serious expression that only made the class more nervous.

Luffy sat up straighter and the slight movement caused everyone to flinch, showing just how high strung the class's nerves were.

"So," Luffy started, causing everyone to immediately focus their attention on him. "Some of you may already know what this is about. (A girl in the class started sobbing and sniffling as Sanji walked over to her and tried his best to comfort her though he didn't know what was going on.) Apparently, Gin-sempai's body was discovered in the woods last night; a student heard a scream and decided to investigate it. Details have not been revealed yet; we just know that there was no blood in the body."

Several students who didn't know of the news before hand gasped and seemed shocked; though it would be weird _not_  to be in shock. Gin-sempai was one of the most loved of all the teachers for his sarcastic sense of humor and strength. He was also a very kind man though he tried not to show it, all the students understood that he was a nice man on the inside.

Zoro crossed his arms as he set his lips in a grim line; sure he felt sad that Gin was dead but most of all, he could just imagine the rumors going around the school. Already, several students were directing their glares at him as if he had something to do with the murder.

Sanji noticed this and cocked his head to the side in confusion as to why the students suddenly had a hostile atmosphere toward Zoro.

Ace leaned over toward Sanji and whispered "I know that recently you got acquainted with Zoro over there." He jerked his thumb briefly toward Zoro causing him to gain his attention and a scowl set on Zoro's face. "Well, I suggest you steer clear of him."

"Why?" asked Sanji in bewilderment.

Ace looked at him as if he had grown an extra head. "You don't know? He's a-"

Ace got cut off when Zoro appeared behind them and startled Ace into stopping.

"We need to talk." grunted Zoro before walking over to Luffy to gain his permission to step outside a bit. Sanji saw Luffy nod his consent and he followed Zoro out, feeling the stares of the whole class and especially Ace's worried look as he walked out the door.

They walked past the school grounds and stopped around the edges of the forest; not too far in but just far enough that people couldn't see them from the school.

"So…what did you want to talk about?" He'd only known this man for a maximum of two days and was suspicious as to why he was taking him so deep into the woods, it also didn't help that Gin died here. Besides, of all their interactions they had only fought, there wasn't much to talk about…

"I want to tell you before someone else does so you don't misunderstand." said Zoro who just seemed tired and drained.

"Tell me what?" asked Sanji, more confused than ever.

"Okay…so you know how Gin-sempai didn't have any blood in his system right?" said Zoro as he awkwardly ran a hand through his hair.

"Yes…?" Was all Sanji could say in reply since he had no idea where this was going.

"Think of what kind of monster would do that…I am one of them." Zoro looked away as he let Sanji realize it himself, he had feared that Sanji would find out; after all, his species wasn't exactly the most 'welcome' since they were feared by everyone.

Vampires had the ability to literally drain your powers away by sucking your blood. Though in ancient times, vampires preyed on humans, one vampire accidentally drank the blood of a monster not realizing it was one until he had done the deed. What happened next wasn't really what anyone expected. The vampire gained the powers of the monster he had drank from and became ten times more dangerous than before. Ever since that incident, that vampire massacred a great amount of monsters, stealing their powers, before he was stopped by the academy's Headmaster. This was also another reason why the Headmaster is so feared and respected.

 _Once Sanji realizes…he will leave me just like the rest of them._ And here he thought he had finally found someone close to a friend, if not friend, then rival; anything would suffice, as long as he was not alone anymore.

Sanji gasped as realization set in. "I know what you are."

"Say it…out loud. Say it."

"A…unicorn."

"Are you afraid?"

"…" It took Zoro about another three seconds more before he realized what Sanji did.

"Wait what the hell are you saying?! I'm a vampire! Vampire damn it! I am not a sparkly unicorn that farts rainbows!" Zoro blushed as he realized that he had fell for Sanji's trap.

Sanji laughed and said "I know, I know. I was just fucking with you man. The opportunity was too tempting to pass up. After all, it's not everyday someone I know confesses they're a vampire."

Zoro could only glare indignantly as Sanji continued laughing at him.

"Wait…but I thought vampires were sparkly?" asked Sanji with a twinkle of mischief in his eye.

Zoro sighed and putting one hand on his forehead said "No, it's just that humans are misinformed…and stop using Twilight references on me already!"

"Got it, got it." chuckled Sanji as he put both hands up to show that he was giving up.

Zoro's mood turned serious again as he asked skeptically "But seriously, aren't you afraid?" He really hoped he wasn't, Zoro didn't want to lose the only person that he could fight with on equal ground.

Sanji noticed the serious turn of events and answered equally seriously "No."

Zoro smiled a genuine smile of joy when he heard Sanji say that; it had been far too long since he had talked to someone without them pissing their pants in terror.

Sanji's heart skipped a beat when he saw that smile on Zoro's face, it was so…beautiful. Sanji shook his head to stop his train of thoughts before it went on a topic he definitely didn't want to think about.

"So, what's your reason for telling me this?" asked Sanji to distract himself from his thoughts.

"There is a high probability that a vampire killed Gin-sempai and since I am one of the few vampires in the school, I'm a prime suspect." replied Zoro.

"So…your point is…?" continued Sanji, still confused.

Zoro sighed as he realized the extent of how dense Sanji was. "I didn't want you to hear this from someone else and assume that I have something to do with the murder. I thought it would be best if I told you myself."

"Oh." said Sanji as he looked at Zoro in realization. "But I still wouldn't have thought of you as a murderer even if someone else told me you were a vampire. You're you, the same idiot that I fell on that day." Sanji smirked but instead of feeling annoyed, Zoro felt his heart warm up at what Sanji had said; though those may have been words that Sanji could easily say, to him, it meant the world.

 _Seems he wasn't dense after all, he just never suspected me…_ Zoro felt a rare happiness at the trust Sanji showed him.

"We should head back now." said Sanji after a long silence; he turned and headed toward the school but Zoro grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Wait." said Zoro, he himself did not know why he stopped Sanji; he only knew he had a sudden urge to say those two words that would show all his gratitude.

Zoro refused to look at Sanji's eyes as he looked off to the side and mumbled gruffly "Thank…you."

Sanji stared at him in slight shock and amusement for a few moments and just enjoyed the blush that was slowly spreading across Zoro's face before replying softly "No problem."

Sanji then headed toward the school again, with Zoro still latched onto his arm. Zoro's hand slowly slid down until it reached Sanji's hand, he hesitated as he had an internal battle on whether or not he should take Sanji's hand when said person provided him the solution by firmly lacing his fingers with Zoro's.

Sanji never looked back and instead kept walking toward the school; he felt the calluses in Zoro's hand that scratched his own tender palm, but frankly, in that moment he did not care and tightened his grasp on Zoro's hand.

xxxxxx

Sanji lay on his bed with his arms behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling mulling things over.

Earlier that evening, Zoro and him had returned back to the classroom and as expected, there were whispers of what Sanji was doing with that  _murderer_.

Sanji gritted his teeth as he remembered that the person who said that was the girl who he had tried to comfort when she was crying. Even though she was a girl, he had felt an abnormal urge to get her face acquainted with the many pieces of gum under her desk. He quickly shook his head to get rid of those thoughts though; after all, no matter how much he wanted to make the girl beg for forgiveness (After beating her with a pencil. Don't ask. It is very painful.) she was still a lady and ladies are to be treated like goddesses.

Sanji was so immersed in his thoughts that it took him a while before he realized that there was a weird scraping sound at his window.

He sighed in annoyance; it must be Ace trying to get in his room, bed, and then pants, again. Seriously though, that darn pyro-maniac never gives up.

Muttering curses under his breath, he opened the window to scream at Ace…only to be booted in the face. Sanji fell and tried to grab something to stop his fall and managed to hold onto the edge of a nearby table, only to let go in pain when he cut his hand on the corner.

Sanji fell on his ass stunned, as the mysterious person that had assaulted him vaulted themselves into the room, uninvited.

The person immediately went to Sanji and helped him stand back up while stammering apologies.

"Who are you?" asked Sanji, immediately after he recovered enough to speak; he warily backed up a bit to give him room if he needed to fight.

"Ummm… I'm so sorry! I just needed a room to hide in and yours was the closest one so I-I'm so sorry!" stammered the stranger as he bowed over and over again until Sanji had to stop him.

The man stood there awkwardly as Sanji scrutinized him using what little moon light there was and was surprised by the attractiveness of the man.

He had short light purple hair except for his bangs which were long. He had them off to one side covering one of his eyes just like Sanji's; the bangs were also wavy. His eyes were a nice shade of green that stood out from his pale skin and purple hair. He had about the same figure as Sanji except without as much muscles. He was the very definition of beauty on a stick.

Realizing that the man didn't seem to mean him any harm, Sanji asked more gently "What's your name?"

"My name is Blair." replied the man, now more calm since it seemed that Sanji wouldn't hurt him.

"Hmmm…I see well, why are you here? Who's chasing you?" asked Sanji as he tried to figure out what Blair was doing here.

"Well I-" started Blair but stopped as he sniffed the air.

Sanji raised an eyebrow in confusion, what was he up to now?

"Did you cut yourself?" asked Blair as Sanji noticed that his eyes were starting to turn red. Creepy.

"Oh." Sanji simply said as he saw that indeed, his hand was now sporting a cut running diagonally across his palm. "I guess I did."

Blair's eyes narrowed as he smiled in a way that contorted his features into something Sanji could only describe as sinister.

"You're an incubus aren't you." Though it was phrased like a question, Blair's tone suggested that it was a fact.

"How did you know?" asked Sanji as he slowly started backing toward the door, he didn't like how Blair had suddenly changed; almost as if he was an entirely different person.

"Your blood, I could smell the power in you." replied Blair as he licked his lips, by this time, his eyes were completely red. "This changes everything."

With that said, Blair suddenly disappeared from Sanji's line of vision and reappeared at his side.  _He's fast!_  Before Sanji could fully comprehend the situation, his wrists and feet were bound while a gag was placed in his mouth.

Blair swept him off his feet (Literally) and carried Sanji princess style out the window. Sanji tried his best to struggle but stopped when he realized that the ropes were made from materials used to detain monsters.

 _Damn it, I let my guard down and I get kidnapped. Wonderful._  Sanji thought sarcastically as Blair sprouted black wings and flew through the sky.

"Sleep, and I'll deal with you later." said Blair and against his will, Sanji fell into a fitful sleep.

xxxxxx

"Mmmm…" moaned Sanji as he woke up with a headache that made him feel like he had a hangover. He bolted upright into a sitting position when he remembered what had happened earlier. He realized that he didn't have a gag anymore, thankfully, but on the more negative side, he was now chained to the wall behind him.

Sanji assessed his surroundings and saw that he was in a run down place that only consisted of half a room, there wasn't even a roof and the whole place was completely open to nature. He saw that they were in a forest, most likely the forest surrounding the school. There was a very beautiful lake directly in front of him but right now, he was not in a situation where he could leisurely admire the beauty of the lake. Instead, he tried his best to find a solution to get out of this situation until a very annoying voice interrupted his plotting.

"Oh look brother! He's awake!"

"Yes, I can see that, brother. Maybe he can help us escape."

Sanji looked around for the source of the voice and finally noticed the two people chained besides him. Their eyes were almost like a cat's, giving away their identities as dragons. They were twins and both had short shaggy brown hair, tanned skin, and gold eyes.

Before Sanji could say anything to them, Blair appeared in front of Sanji. Sanji immediately trained his attention on Blair and said "Why are you doing this to me, Blair?"

"Blair? I do not know of this Blair you speak of. My name is Cain and you are to be confined here until I deem you ripe enough to eat." stated Blair in that haughty tone that made Sanji have an urge to shove feces into that arrogant face that matched the arrogant voice.

Though what Blair…or Cain said made him curious. "What do you mean 'ripe'?"

"He says that you have to be soaked in moon light for a month before your blood will be good." said one of the twins matter-of-factly and Sanji glared at him in annoyance since he didn't ask him.

During this exchange, Cain had started walking on the  _lake_ and across to the other side where more forest lay.

"What's he doing?" whispered one of the twins.

"He's walking on water." replied the other.

"Oh Jesus." they both said as they stared with wide eyes in awe at the approximate place where Cain had disappeared into the forest.

Sanji rolled his eyes and said "This really isn't the time to be joking around. Unless, you haven't noticed, we're currently being prepared as  _food_. " putting extra emphasis on the last word. These idiots really didn't understand their current predicament, did they?

"Well, you see, it's really boring here and we don't get distracted easily so there's nothing to do here and- oh look, a butterfly!"

Sanji would have face palmed if he could.

TBC

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoy the new chapter and any comments are appreciated :)


	6. Dragons and Kisses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was uploaded after a long hiatus so there may be some inconsistencies. I hope it's still acceptable though.

xxxxxx

Zoro was in a very dark place that seemed to stretch for miles; he quickly put his hands to his waist and was relieved to find that his swords were with him. He looked around in confusion, trying to find a way out when he saw a pinpoint of white light in the distance. Seeing as there was no other way out, he headed toward the light.

Once he arrived there, he realized he was at a bright clearing with flowers everywhere; an eyebrow rose in confusion.

"Zoro." said a voice to Zoro's right and he quickly drew one of his swords to look around warily.

His confusion mounted when he saw nothing but flowers but suddenly a man appeared seemingly out of no where a few feet in front of him.

Zoro relaxed and sheathed his sword when he realized who it was in front of him: Mihawk, his uncle and legal guardian. Also know as the greatest swordsman in the world and only second in fame to the Headmaster.

"Mihawk." Zoro said the man's name with slight curiosity; one of the powers of being a vampire was the ability to invade another's dreams, but it was not often Mihawk actually used it to speak to him.

They weren't really on good terms, with the whole Zoro trying to beat him and what not; they still cared for each other though, and of course they would never admit it.

"What are you here for?" asked Zoro, they were both men of few words after all and he wanted to get this over with.

"Do you know the history of vampires and how we became how we are now?" asked Mihawk abruptly.

Zoro raised an eyebrow in confusion, this was…weird and random to say the least.

"No." He grunted noncommittally, though in reality he was immensely curious as to what brought on this topic.

"Then let me tell you. Make yourself comfortable." said Mihawk curtly as he sat down cross-legged on the flowers and Zoro copied the action to sit across from him.

"Have you ever wondered why we have developed into beings that do not need blood to survive?" Mihawk lightly rested his hands on his knees and continued, not even waiting for an answer from Zoro. "One of our ancestors did the forbidden: they fell in love with a human. This was a fruitless romance that had no happy ending, after all, vampires are hunters and humans are our prey."

Zoro scrunched his eyebrows in confusion; he seriously did not know where this conversation was leading to.

Ignoring Zoro's obvious confusion, Mihawk continued his speech "He would help her in any way he could, though secretly of course. She never knew he existed but he silently protected her… until that fateful night."

Zoro felt the mood change as Mihawk's expression grew more solemn and leaned forward in anticipation.

Mihawk adjusted his coat and continued speaking "It was the middle of the night and she was walking home from work when someone attacked her, luckily, he was nearby and he succeeded in saving her though the attacker escaped."

Zoro felt himself relax, he had thought from Mihawk's expression that this would be a tragic story but it seemed it wasn't. (After all, Mihawk always looks like that.)

"Don't relax yet, Zoro. Our history has no happy ending. What happened next was unexpected, she had been hurt during the attack and he gave in to bloodlust." said Mihawk in almost a whisper.

"You mean…" Started Zoro as it dawned to him what must have happened.

"Yes, he killed her; thus he vowed never to consume blood ever again and instead gets his energy from food." Stated Mihawk "Later on it was revealed that the attack was planned, someone from the family had wanted this to happen. To this day, he is still searching for the person whom he believes led him to commit this tragedy."

Zoro was silent as he mulled over this new information about his ancestry, he had never been interested in his ancestors but this certainly explained a lot of things; still, why would Mihawk tell him this…?

Mihawk seemed to sense his confusion and said "The reason for this story is a warning. We vampires have never had a happy ending in our romances and even if we did, we experienced many hardships and pain to reach that point."

Zoro scoffed, so this was what everything was about "Your point is?"

Mihawk seemed to be slightly uncomfortable which surprised Zoro greatly "Lately I've sensed that you have been experiencing a certain attraction for someone and I thought I would warn you before things went too far. There are also some…things I wanted to talk to you about relationships."

_Oh. Ohhhh… Was Mihawk trying to give him…the TALK?!_ Zoro thought in panic, though his exterior still sported a poker face.

"You see," continued Mihawk shamelessly "When a man and woman or in your case, a man and man fall in love; certain thin-"

"I get it." Zoro hastily cut him off; there was no  _fucking_  way he could sit through Mihawk,  _the Mihawk-_ greatest swordsman in the world- talk to him about this.

"I see." replied Mihawk, in his usual poker face; it seemed that nothing fazed him, even having such an awkward talk with Zoro.

Zoro cleared his throat and stood up hastily "If there's nothing else, I should go now." Zoro walked toward the exit which was a door in phthe middle of the field and opened the door.

"Remember Zoro, our ancestors have sinned too much, we will never have a happy relationship with anyone. Choose wisely; choose a lover who will be strong enough to go through these hardships with you." said Mihawk as he also stood up to leave.

Zoro paused, one hand still on the door, the other hand touching Wado. "I know." replied Zoro in barely a whisper before stepping though the door. He didn't need love, he's been alone all this time, he could continue doing so forever.

Forever was a long time though, but he would be okay…right?

xxxxxx

"…-ake up…wake up…WAKE UP YOU FUCKING BASTARD!"

Zoro jolted awake as something that felt like a foot collide with his head and immediately grabbed it before the person who attacked him could escape.

There was only one person he knew that would use their legs as a choice weapon…

With one hand still grabbing onto the person's leg, Zoro used his other hand to rub the growing bump on his head and growled "What the hell, Sanji? I was having a pleasant sleep…" Zoro blinked the sleep out of his eyes and realized that this was not Sanji; instead, it was a certain hot-headed incubus who seemed to be very pissed off.

"Ace." Zoro said curtly, before letting go of the leg and yawning in a bored manner.

"Where's Sanji?!" screeched Ace as he made a move to attack Zoro again.

Zoro stopped mid stretch to block the attack but not before Ace's words registered, he felt cold dread pit in his stomach and somehow, he knew this would not end well.

"What do you mean…?" asked Zoro slowly as he tried to comprehend why Ace would come to him of all people to look for Sanji. "And why are you asking me?"

"Sanji's missing and I know that you recently fought with Sanji so you're the most suspicious." said Ace as he sat down on the bed, drained of strength from worry.

"He's not in his room?" replied Zoro, choosing to ignore the 'most suspicious' thing.

"No, I went in there to try to seduce him…but he wasn't there. Most importantly, there were signs of a struggle and Sanji's blood is on a corner of his table. It's fresh too; it couldn't have been more than an hour ago." Ace sighed and turned his head over to look Zoro in the eye. "I'm sorry for attacking you, now that I've calmed down I do not smell Sanji's blood on you."

Zoro narrowed his eyes at the fact that Ace was trying to seduce Sanji but decided that since he was kind enough to apologize…

"I don't get it, why don't you just tell the teachers or one of the higher ups?" said Zoro in puzzlement.

"Well, you see, Sanji has a habit of practicing his martial arts during the night where no one could see him so I thought that maybe he was just training and went out for a walk…I don't want him to get in trouble, you know that we are forbidden to go out at night." replied Ace.

"And you would know this because…?" Zoro gritted his teeth in annoyance when he realized just how often Ace went to Sanji's room. During the night. Alone. Zoro shook his head to clear his jealousy; the most important thing right now was to find Sanji.

_Did I just think jealousy? This is not good; attraction to someone is not good…_  Zoro was rather weary, especially after that talk with Mihawk, it raised many barriers around his heart that he did not previously have; it also caused him to realize just how much trouble and over all pain he would have to go through in order to find someone to love, or someone who loves him.

Ace snapped Zoro out of his musing when he said "Let's hurry and find Sanji, I might just be over thinking it but my gut feeling tells me that he is not doing something as simple as taking a walk."  
"What gave you the idea that I would help you?" Sneered Zoro, although he would definitely help without a doubt, he just wanted to annoy Ace. Just the fact that he's been in Sanji's room countless times whereas Zoro himself has not even went there once irked him immensely.

"You will." replied Ace simply as he stood up and walked out the door without looking back.

Hastily, Zoro shoved on a shirt and pants to follow the stupid bastard that didn't even wait for him.

xxxxxx

"Where are we going?" asked Zoro hastily as they ran through the woods after sneaking out of the school. It had been fairly easy; since Ace's hypnotic powers came in handy with knocking out the guards.

"No idea." said Ace as he unfurled his black leathery wings to speed up.

"What?!" exclaimed Zoro before skidding to a stop, pulling on Ace's wings to force him to a stop too.

"Ow! That hurt you asshole!" screeched Ace as he swatted Zoro's hands away and rubbed at his abused wings.

"If you didn't know the way then why are you leading?!" shouted Zoro, he was cold, it was the middle of the night, and they were in the woods for god's sakes! He was rightfully angry, or at least that's what he told himself; though maybe he was being a bit harsh…

"You would have gotten us even more lost if you led!" screamed Ace back indignantly, though in the back of his mind he figured that being so loud with a potential kidnapper/killer around wasn't very wise….he chose to ignore his smarter side, like he always did.

Any regret at being mean to Ace gone, he took deep breaths to hold down his annoyance and could only glare at Ace angrily; after all, he was kind of right….

A sudden rustling to the left stopped Zoro's train of thought, and while Ace was still grumbling about his sense of direction, Zoro put his guard up. Something was out there. Something nasty.

"Shhh!" said Zoro as he swiftly drew his swords and Ace quieted down in record time due to the urgency in his voice.

They both heightened their senses and looked around warily before another rustling near them led them to leap toward the source.

Fangs and swords bared, they parted the bushes and took aim at a….raccoon?

The poor traumatized raccoon gave a squeak before tucking its tail between its legs and ran away as fast as its little short legs could carry it.

Zoro and Ace glanced at each other in bewilderment before sheathing their weapons, hearts still pounding from the adrenaline.

"Ha ha, we are such idiots, getting scared at nothing." laughed Ace a bit breathless as he patted his pants to get the leaves off and continued walking.

"But I could've sworn…" muttered Zoro before shaking his head and following Ace.

_That boy has sharp instincts…_

The leaves rustled and the dark presence faded to nothingness leaving nothing but the dead vegetation around him.

xxxxxx

A certain blond-haired incubus awoke with a start and realized that he was covered in water…no wait, it was his sweat.

He was panting and his eyes wide from the nightmare he had just had; he had dreamed of Zoro and Ace coming to save him…only to meet their doom in the hands of Blair, or Cain; seriously though, what was his name?!

He sighed and turned his head to the side, only to find those twins staring at him with wide gold eyes crinkled in worry.

He could practically feel the question in the air:  _Are you okay?_

_I'm fine._  He tried to convey with his eyes, though he appreciated their kindness, this wasn't really the most appropriate situation to be worrying about someone else and it was a bit awkward with the whole chained-up-on-a-wall thing.

He noticed they visibly relaxed and even smiled at him, Sanji decided that if they were going to be stuck here for a whole month then he might as well get to know them; maybe together, they would be able to escape and get help.

"My name's Sanji…yours?" he smiled gently, they seemed younger than him, maybe by a year or two and he didn't want to scare them…

"My name's Soulirus," said the one on the right and he gestured to his twin before saying "And unless you haven't noticed, this is my twin, Treyston."

"Those are very…unique names." replied Sanji as he scrunched his curled brows in a frown; he didn't even understand how someone could even pronounce names like that…

"Yes, they are our full dragon names; well, just the first names of course. Our full names are…rather long. You can call us Soul and Trey respectively if you want," The twins smiled and Sanji couldn't help but smile back, they were just so adorable…kind of reminded him of that doctor at the school, the same innocence.

_I have to get them out of here; they don't deserve to die like this._  Resolved, Sanji set his lips into a thin line as he concentrated on bending his legs in a way that  _might_  make it possible for him to destroy the wall he was chained on. Though there was a risk of his hands getting injured, he was ready to risk it in order to escape from his imminent death.

Since Sanji was sitting on the floor with his wrists both chained to the wall above him, he decided that the best way to do this was to swing up and destroy the part of the wall holding his hands together.

Carefully, Sanji bent his wrists and winced at the bite of metal on his flesh before using his powerful legs to propel himself up in a movement similar to a backwards somersault. A grunt of pain sounded through his chest when his feet connected with the wall above him and twisted his body in an awkward angle but his flexibility saved him from what would have been a damaged or broken spinal chord.

Silence reigned through the clearing as everyone waited in anticipation for something,  _anything,_  to happen. Sanji fell back onto the floor in disbelief, it didn't work, that was their only way out and it didn't work. He cursed himself for being weak and despised the fact that he couldn't get out of their predicament with his own strength.

"Soul, Trey, do you guys have anything that you can use to get us out?" Sanji figured that if he had no more options then might as well ask someone else for ideas; he paused, and waited for an answer but never got one.

Curious, he turned his head to the side to see what the twins were up to; strangely, they were just staring at the ground listlessly as if dazed.

"Soul…? Trey…?" Sanji's curled brows furled in worry, they didn't look good…was something wrong?

When no response was said back Sanji stretched his leg to kick a piece of rock at them and maybe snap them out of whatever weird trance they were in.

The pebble hit the cheek of Soul, the one nearest to Sanji, and he looked up to stare at Sanji…with purple eyes. They were a brilliant violet that seemed to almost glow in the dark and was quite pretty, if not for the array of goose bumps Sanji felt from the creepiness of those pretty eyes.

_What the fuck?_  Sanji raised a brow as Soul stared at him with those unusual purple eyes which Sanji clearly remembered to previously be gold, after a moment, Soul slumped his head back into the previous position and stared at the floor.

_What is wrong with them?_ Sanji didn't know much about dragons but he knew that they didn't have weird mood swings that turned their personalities, and their eyes, one hundred eighty degrees. It might just be puberty…yeah; he's not even going to go there.

Confusion at an all time max, Sanji looked up to survey his surroundings tiredly, he may need to memorize where everything is in order to make his escape easier. His bored scanning of the shrubs and trees revealed one particular puff that contrasted from the rest; it seemed kind of li-

"Zoro!" Sanji whispered loudly in surprise and hope, indeed, it was the moss head who walked toward Sanji with a leisurely pace and seemed at peace with the whole world with an expressionless face.

"Zoro, why are you here?" Without waiting for an answer, Sanji plowed on, it was best to get out while Blair/Cain was not here otherwise it would get messy. "I didn't need your help but since you're here…can you unchain me? And also unchain the other two, they're with me."

When no response was given Sanji looked up from where he was fumbling with his chains to Zoro who still had an indescribable look on his face.

"Zoro…?" Sanji's eyes widened as Zoro leaned in slowly until he was a few centimeters from his face and Sanji gasped at the sudden lack of space between them.

Sanji shuddered as Zoro took his lips in a nip and kissed him lightly before Sanji opened his mouth to give more access to Zoro, though he really shouldn't be doing this, it was just so tempting…

"I love you." murmured Zoro whose words were slightly muffled by his mouth on Sanji's.

Sanji was slightly breathless from the confession and the kiss as he panted and gulped for air like a starved animal; Zoro leaned back and with a weird glint in his eyes and repeated "I love you, so, so much."

Sanji didn't even have time to react when a knife was plunged into his body straight through his chest by the same man that had just kissed him so gently and professed his love for him.

_TBC_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and I'm very tempted to leave it at this cliffhanger. Luckily for you guys I'm just moving this fic over from my other account so it's been updated since ;) I'll update the next chapter in a week or so.
> 
> Comments are appreciated and loved :)


	7. What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp, I hope you guys will enjoy this new chapter. Enjoy!

xxxxxx

Love is dangerous, especially when it tries to kill you.

xxxxxx

"Argh! Where's that elusive sexy blond?!" Ace nearly tugged his hair out in frustration (But he would never do that, it takes him way too much time and hairspray to keep it in that 'natural' mussed us fashion) as he swatted irritably at the surrounding green maze.

Zoro merely raised an eyebrow at the outburst and strolled behind the fiery man in a casual manner that hid his own worries. They had been searching for nearly two hours and he had a nagging feeling that something bad would happen if they didn't find the blond and escape this cursed forest.

 _Damn it Sanji…where are you?_  Zoro was tempted to rage but refused to lower himself to the same standing as Ace, after all, someone needed to be calm and make sure nothing went wrong. Sometimes it sucked being a Zoro.

Lost in his musings but still scanning the area for danger, the green-haired man noticed a slight difference in the vegetation to the left. He approached the spot and surely, it seemed there was a well used path down the slight slope.

He parted the leaves blocking the path and found himself in a pretty clearing next to a lake. The shimmering reflection of the moon on the lake could be seen even from a distance and, entranced by the sight, it took him a while to notice something that should have been obvious to him from the start: Sanji.

After searching for Sanji all this time he felt relief rush through him that Sanji seemed well, until he noticed the also quite obvious chained hands and the dazed look in Sanji's eyes.

"Sa-" Zoro started to speak but choked when the  _smell_  hit him; it was revolting and his eyes watered at the putrid smell akin to dead corpses. How had he not noticed it before?

Zoro backed away from the blond until he was a good range away and could only faintly smell that disgusting stench; it was also starting to cause him dizziness which was very alarming. Warily scrutinizing his surroundings while keeping a hand firmly covered over his mouth and nose, Zoro realized that the source of the smell seemed to be…a bowl of…mushrooms?

 _Oh god, humans and their shrooms._  But even as he thought this, Zoro knew that these were not any normal mushrooms; the fact that they had an effect on him proved that they were not cultivated in human lands.

Choosing the quickest way to get rid of the smell, he kicked the bowl into the lake and swiftly cut the chains off of Sanji causing him to slump onto the ground.

Zoro stood, expecting a reaction; this was usually when Sanji started screaming that he didn't need help… Actually, Sanji hadn't spoken since he entered the clearing…

Something was wrong…

"Oi, stupid cook," grunted Zoro as he nudged him with his shoe "Get up, what's wrong with you?"

Frowning when there was no response from him; Zoro grabbed the cook by his arm and dragged Sanji up until he was standing.

Sanji's stood only through the support of Zoro and his head tilted down like a rag doll, staring at the ground with blank emotionless eyes.

 _Something's wrong, I should've seen it earlier!_ Zoro set his lip in a grim line before piggybacking Sanji and walking out of the accursed clearing to take Sanji back to the school, completely forgetting about the other two boys still chained to the wall and Ace.

xxxxxx

"He's been drugged," stated the talking raccoon "It's a very effective drug used to torture victims by causing hallucinations. The scary thing about this drug is that it will cause hallucinations of someone important to you and that person will cause harm to you. Or it could go the other way and it will be the person hallucinating hurting who they care about. It's a horrible drug, one that runs on cycles of killing and being killed. It should wear off in an hour or so."

Zoro and Sanji were back at the school and in the infirmary after a long walk back through the woods. Since it was four in the morning, no one was awake and he needed to get into the building somehow; thus, he improvised. He just hoped that he wouldn't have to pay for the wall he cut to shreds and the medical bill of the random guy who was unfortunately near the wall. It wasn't his fault he couldn't find the door and instead chose the easier way to get in to the dorm; how did he know that slicing a section of the wall would result in half the building collapsing? It's the building's fault for being weak.

As he was thinking, the doctor, which he learned was named Chopper, finished patching up whatever scrapes Sanji had from Zoro manhandling him.

"He'll recover after a good several hours of sleep. So, may I ask what happened to cause all this at four in the morning?" Though Chopper was generally kind to everyone, even he would be slightly irked at being awoken at four in the morning.

"I'm not too sure either; Ace was the first one to sense that something was wrong when he went to… "check on him" and Sanji wasn't in his room, there were also some signs of a struggle. We went to search for Sanji and I found him chained to the remains of a building of some kind." Zoro furrowed his brows, he had a vague feeling he forgot something but waved it off as his fatigue making him more paranoid.

Chopper gasped in concern and waved his hooves (?) around in panic. "Someone must have kidnapped him! We have to inform The Headmaster of this incident, this may be linked to the case with Gin-senpai…" He sniffed back the tears that started to form at the mention of Gin; the kind man had always given him candy and petted him when they saw each other. "Zoro, take Sanji to his room and watch over him. I know you're tired too but we can't risk it, we don't know what the attacker's motive is and they might come back for Sanji. Take care of him until we can send one of the teachers to watch him."

Zoro nodded and set his lips into a grim line as he gently picked up Sanji bridal style and strolled out of the huge gaping hole he had made.

This was his job and he was going to make damn sure nothing would hurt a hair on Sanji; he would be his knight in shining armor, he would follow the enemy to the ends of the ear-

"Zoro, the male dorm is the other way." stated Chopper.

-on the other hand maybe he should stay put in Sanji's room and not wander around too much.

xxxxxx

Ace seethed, after seemingly ditched by that green-haired idiot, he had found and rescued two kids that had been chained to a random wall in the middle of this damned forest but there was still no sign of Sanji. He glanced at the pair he had picked up and was supporting by putting one on either side of him, using his arms to hold them up (Like a pimp).

They both had a look in their eyes that worried him and he decided that he would take these kids to the infirmary first before hunting down that idiot who was most likely lost and resume his search for Sanji.

Ace sighed, why was he always stuck with the stupid ones? He prayed that they would find Sanji soon and get out of this mess, or at least whatever mess Zoro was sure to cause.

Though it pained him to admit it, he felt slightly worried about Zoro; this forest wasn't exactly safe right now.

_And how am I going to find him? God knows where he's gone, tell him to go left and he would somehow end up underground somewhere…_

Brightening up considerably when he spotted a vague shape of what seemed like a building; he shifted the weights on his arms before breaking through the last row of trees…only to find half of the building no longer intact.

 _Well,_  Ace mused as he noticed the clean cuts of the pieces of wall on the floor,  _at least now I know where that knuckle head's been._

He figured Zoro had found Sanji, Zoro wouldn't return without him, that much he knew. Feeling a metaphorical weight lift off his heart and mind, he smiled in relief before heading inside the building to get some treatment for these poor kids.

xxxxxx

Zoro put Sanji down on the bed as softly as he could, though he didn't know why he tried so hard for the man, it's not like he was his  _mate_  or anything like that- okay he needed to stop his mind from going down that road. It was really something he didn't want to face yet.

Covering Sanji with a blanket, he pulled a chair up to the bed and sat down, leaning forward as he inspected the cook. He crossed his arms as he took in the fact that Sanji's eyes were still open and with a blanked out look. It made him uncomfortable that all he could do was sit there when Sanji was mostly being tortured over and over again in his mind.

 _Maybe I can shake him awake…_ Deciding that it would be preferable to at least try to help Sanji, he grabbed the man by the shoulders and shook him in increasing increments of strength. After shaking Sanji hard enough to probably crack his neck, Zoro sat back down realizing how silly the idea was. After all, it was shrooms, who  _knows_  what in the world those things can do to you. He's seen enough of humans doing those things called shrooms to be half traumatized, especially that one time where a human tried to convince that unicorns were real in a very (What was that human term?), "stoned" way. He knew unicorns were real so it was kind of awkward, though unicorns are not as magical as people make them to be. They were such conceited assholes; just because they had a long  _horn_  it didn't mean their dic-

A long groan from the bed distracted Zoro from his thoughts as he realized he should have been watching Sanji instead of thinking of weird things. Leaning over Sanji, Zoro put both hands on Sanji's shoulders and gently shook him, hoping to get him to wake up faster.

In a motion too fast for Zoro to even comprehend, he was suddenly laid flat on his back as Sanji trapped his arms above him, holding both wrists down. The focus and blatant bloodlust in Sanji's eyes took out any enjoyment he felt from having Sanji on top of him, it was downright murderous. Feeling his hair rise, Zoro felt fear for the first time in decades and had to use all his strength not to start struggling, realizing that it would probably just make Sanji kill him faster.

Just when Zoro was questioning what he did to incite this anger (Was it that time he tried to sneak a touch or was it that other time…) Sanji spoke up in a low growl that went straight to his groin.

"You…why did you try to kill me?" And though Sanji's posture and eyes expressed anger, in his voice there was nothing but hurt and betrayal; as if to brace himself for the answer he sat upright, putting as much space between Zoro and himself as he could while still restraining the man under him.

Startled, Zoro tried to process what was being asked but rushed for an answer when Sanji's eyes narrowed into slits as he bared his elongated teeth in a grimace and the hands around his neck, from where they had moved to, tightened (How he did not notice the hands moving there was a mystery even to him).

"I-" Still confused by the weird question, he tried to answer it the best he could. "Sanji, you know I would never hurt you on purpose. I mean, sure we banter and fight a lot but that's all in good humor."  _And it also let's me get close to you in ways that I would never be able to._

The hold on his neck loosened as Sanji seemed confused by this statement but tightened a second later in resolve. "No, stop lying. You were there in the forest and when I thought you were there to help me, you _betrayed_  me." Sanji let out a hollow laugh that sounded more like a choked sob. "I trusted you, how could-"

Unable to bear the pain in Sanji's eyes any longer, Zoro pulled Sanji down flush on top of him as he petted his head in a comforting gesture.

"Shhh….you're tired Sanji. We can talk about this when you wake up." Zoro stroked Sanji's hair in small increments and used his other hand to keep the man flush on top of him in case he tried to escape.

And despite the fact that Sanji had felt and seen Zoro kill him, despite the fact that he was technically the person who tried to  _kill_  him; he still couldn't help but relax against him as he displayed the trust he had for the man that could not be expressed in simple words.

"Bastard Marimo." Grumbled Sanji from where his head had fallen to fit comfortably in the crook of Zoro's neck, he yawned widely as he felt all the stress and fatigue from the event today catch up to him and quickly fell asleep while still muttering insults such as "Idiot, couldn't had saved me sooner." and "You're such a bastard why are you so nice to me?" every once in a while even when half conscious.

Zoro tried to hold in his chuckles but couldn't prevent a smile from the absolute attraction he felt to the man when he was mumbling obscenities and cursing him half conscious. He had it bad, though he had given up denying it ever since the blonde had been kidnapped and he had felt more emotion in that moment than in his lifetime. Zoro tightened his hug on Sanji as he gave in and nuzzled the top of his head a few times; his hair  _really_  was soft…

 _This is not going to end well for me, is it, Sanji?_  He silently thought in his head as he continued stroking and petting the blonde who seemed to enjoy the attention if his cuddling was anything to go by.

Zoro was afraid of these new emotions that Sanji gave him. Lust he had experienced many times and even sometimes acted on it, but the tenderness and care that Sanji seemed to pull out of him wasn't familiar even to Zoro as it did not fit the tough and gruff persona he had created for himself.

Though Zoro was scared in a way, he was also not one to give up without a fight. That was the resolve he wanted to take toward these new emotions he seemed to have, he could only hope that Sanji would recuperate them. He was afraid because of all the battles he's fought, he's rarely lost one and none of them ever got to a life threatening level; but if Sanji hated him, then it would shatter his very soul.

TBC

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah...this will be the last of the more lighthearted chapters. The main reason my first several chapters are on crack is because of the fact that everything goes to hell afterwards and omg it gets so sad. There's still a happy ending though...but yeah be prepared.


	8. The Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are taking a serious turn though and the plot is picking up. My writing style also changed here because it was after my two year hiatus.

xxxxxx

Sanji scrunched his face up against the annoying glare he felt even through his eyelids.

He blinked as he tried to turn away from the harsh light that had woken him, realizing that it was the sun's rays hitting directly on his face from the window in his room.

"Urghhhh..." He groaned in annoyance as he turned his head the other way, rubbing his cheek against his very firm pillow. He always closed the blinds when he slept, why were they…?

Wait.

His pillow was breathing.

Slowly lifting his head up and putting his chin on the chest that was most definitely not his pillow he met the amused gaze of Zoro.

Sanji stared, increasingly embarrassed as Zoro just calmly stared back seemingly completely content with their current position.

And that position was on top of Zoro's very well built chest  _Oh mmmm hello there_  andddddd this was not the time nor place to bring attention to his morning wood.

Damn it, off topic.

"Um, I'm sorry about…" Sanji trailed off as he raised himself on his elbows, wincing as the injuries from last night made themselves known.

"No, it's fine." Zoro gruffly answered as he gently tugged Sanji back on top of him. His injuries would be agitated with too much movement, Zoro totally didn't have any ulterior motives for wanting Sanji pressed flush against him.

None at all…

"Those drugs they gave you are at fault, not you."

Sanji stayed silent, only shifting himself a bit to get comfortable on top of Zoro before settling down.

They spent a long time just laying there, enjoying the comfort of each other's presence after such a crazy night. And if Zoro didn't protest when he felt Sanji's tail curl shyly around his leg, well, there was no one here but them.

Right now they needed that comfort, that feeling of calmness and relief that they had both made it out of the ordeal alive. Sanji closed his eyes and listened carefully to the strong heartbeat that Zoro possessed, content and happy.

Eventually though, they would have to face reality and their quiet peace was broken by Ace literally knocking down the door to the room.

Startled, Sanji lurched up, remembering belatedly that his tail was still wrapped around Zoro's leg. He flailed a little as he tried to regain his balance but ultimately fell off the bed in a heap, almost dragging Zoro down with him.

Sanji glared at Ace from his upside down position. At least Ace looked sheepish for his rude entrance.

"Oh...haha sorry about that." Ace grinned as his gaze flickered between Zoro on the bed and the fact that he was pretty sure Sanji had been sleeping on top of him. "Did I interrupt something?" Ace smirked as Sanji's mouth opened and closed a few times, flustered by the implications of Ace's words while Zoro just looked completely unaffected.

Zoro stretched languidly and Ace couldn't help noticing that Sanji's eyes lingered on the way Zoro's shirt rode up a bit, showing his toned stomach.

Zoro stood up, grabbing his three swords and securing them at his waist, before giving them both a raised brow as if saying 'Why-are-we-still-here-let's-get-going.'

Ace gave another wry grin before indicating with a wave that they should follow him and Zoro sighed before helping Sanji up where he was still tangled in blankets on the floor.

"So, I took it upon myself to inform the higher-ups about this incident since it seemed like you two would be recovering." Ace said as he led them out of the dorm and into the courtyard. It was around midday and already there were students milling about. Sanji took a step closer to Zoro's side, uncomfortable with all the attention the student body was giving them. The looks and whispers were disconcerting and after what happened last night, he just wanted to stay inside and sleep.

As if sensing his discomfort, Zoro gave him a nudge with his shoulder and a small smile. Sanji relaxed as he let his side press closer against Zoro, glad that he had a someone with him that would help him get through this.

In front of them, Ace continued talking as he led them towards the main building where the principal's office was. "Shanks- I mean, The Headmaster wanted to talk to you two about all this in person. The other two victims, the twins, are already there and he just wants to match your statements so that they can use it to investigate."

Sanji felt nervous. If the Headmaster was involved then the situation was much worse and complicated than he previously thought. He's only heard rumors but there were many monsters and humans alike who had fallen victim to the Headmaster's power. There were whispers that he was an ancient type of vampire, one of the first, and that his preference for red clothing was because they were soaked with the blood of his enemies. It was all ridiculous and most likely nothing but rumors, but still, in the face of actually meeting the man, he seemed so much more daunting.

Gathering his courage, Sanji only felt slightly terrified as the trio stood in front of the Headmaster's office, those imposing wooden doors suddenly looked like the gates of hell to Sanji.

_Ugh let's get this over with._  Sanji thought to himself, as Ace pushed open the doors after a booming voice from inside told them to come in.

The room was simple, just a desk and some chairs surrounded it and there weren't many noticeable decorations. It wasn't the creepy dungeon Sanji was envisioning so that was comforting.

However, the Headmaster himself was exactly as terrifying as Sanji imagined and more. He had three scars down one eye and though his red hair was artfully tousled, giving him a rather handsome look, the scowl he was wearing made him look menacing.

Sanji gave a small flinch, sliding a step back into Zoro's chest when the Headmaster stood up and walked towards them. Zoro placed a hand on his waist, giving a squeeze, probably to comfort him but he was too focused on the Headmaster to really notice.

Sanji met the man's gaze steadily as he stopped directly in front of him. They stared at each other, assessing and sizing each other up before Sanji opened his mouth, about to comment on the creepy staring.

Instead, the Headmaster burst into a silly grin and brought a hand up, holding some lollipops "Do you want a lollipop?"

Sanji gaped, unsure how to react at the sudden change. The tension in the room dissipated as Sanji wordlessly grabbed a red lollipop, muttering a confused 'thank you' before sitting in the chair next to the twins that the Headmaster gestured to. Zoro and Ace leaned on the walls, just there to observe but not actually partaking in the interrogation.

Now that he wasn't so focused on the Headmaster, he realized that the twins looked completely at ease here, giggling while discussing something under their breath. Apparently he'd been the only one truly uncomfortable and terrified by the Headmaster, he felt kind of embarrassed about it now that he noticed the other occupants' trust of the man.

"So Sanji," The Headmaster started as he also started sucking on a lollipop, "do you have anything to add about the person who kidnapped you last night?"

"I…" Sanji wasn't really sure where to start. His kidnapper hadn't seemed like a bad person at first, and then suddenly his personality seemed to do a 180 and he was faced with a blood thirsty crazy person that was trying to eat him. It was really weird. Almost like there were two sides to the man… "There was something off about him." Sanji finally decided, unsure how to really explain it.

"Off how?" The Headmaster sat forward, leaning on the desk as he took on a more serious expression. "We need you to tell us every detail, we have reason to believe that this is the same person that killed Gin."

Sanji frowned, he had suspected but still...it was shocking to say the least, that he could have ended up dead like Gin.

"I think he has a personality disorder. When I first met him he was running from something and crashed into my room, hoping to hide. He wasn't really intimidating and seemed almost shy. He also said his name was Blair. However, once he smelled the blood on me-" Sanji cut himself off when he heard Zoro growl, the stupid marimo was probably worried. He rolled his eyes fondly before continuing "-that I got from accidentally falling. Did I mention it was a  _really_ small cut?" Once satisfied that Zoro wasn't going to go all protective and growly, he continued "Anyways, once he smelled it his eyes changed color and that's when he got menacing. I think that's the other side of his personality. He said his name was Cain."

The twins cut in with their own comments "Yup! The same happened to us, we met Blair first and he was super nice but then Cain came out and said he wanted our blood. Which, gross because dragon blood doesn't even look all that appealing." The twins nodded decisively seemingly smug and satisfied that they could help.

The Headmaster seemed to think about the information for a second before speaking "I don't think it's possible for monsters to have personality disorders. Our healing is so effective that we don't get mental disorders and rarely any physical ones. However, he might be possessed and perhaps Cain is the thing that's possessing Blair. It's not uncommon. But from what you all told me, Blair seems to be a vampire if his fixation on your blood and the fact that he gains power from it is any indication. It's weird though...we document all the vampires existing because there's not many of us and I don't remember seeing a Blair anywhere in our records…"

There was a brief silence as the Headmaster made a decision. "Okay well, that's all I needed to know, thank you all for coming and cooperating with us. The fact that Blair was able to just casually waltz into our student's rooms is a clear indication of our lack of security. We'll go to measures to prevent this from happening again and we're sorry for the trouble."

Hearing the clear dismissal in his words, Sanji and the twins stood up, heading out.

"Sanji," The blonde turned around, eager to leave the room when the Headmaster stopped him "If you remember anything else useful please do inform us."

Nodding, and feeling a sense of foreboding, Sanji stepped out of the room where Zoro was waiting for him in the corridor.

He touched the pocket where he had placed the red lollipop, suddenly he wasn't so sure he wanted to eat it.

Shaking the feeling off, Sanji looked around, noticing a distinct lack of dragon twins and Ace.

"Where's…?" Sanji gestured towards the empty hall and they both walked towards the exit.

"Ace went ahead to escort the twins to their new dorm rooms. They'll be joining our school from now on." Zoro replied quietly as they stepped outside. Sanji inhaled the fresh air realizing that it was now around dinner time, the sun just setting.

They'd been excused from their classes for the next week to recover and now that they were alone without the stress of talking to the Headmaster above them, Sanji didn't really know how to act around Zoro. Were they even just friends anymore? What do you say to a guy who saved your life?

Before he could stop himself Sanji blurted out "Do you want to eat dinner together?" Zoro gave him a strange look and Sanji rambled on "Uhhh...you know to thank you for saving my life, I can use the dorm kitchen and cook you something…" He trailed off awkwardly as he realized that Zoro was a vampire and didn't really eat actual solid food.

"Um…" Sanji was most definitely blushing now and oh god why was he so awkward about this.

Zoro, noticing Sanji's embarrassment, chuckled quietly and answered "Yeah, I could eat. It's been a long day."

Confused, Sanji glanced at him, frowning. "You don't have to agree just to save me from my utter insensitivity you know. I know you don't eat human food so it's okay."

"You don't know much about vampires do you?" And Zoro realized that yes, Sanji wasn't born and raised in an environment with fellow monsters. He was raised by humans and so it wasn't really his fault he didn't understand a lot of things that most monsters learned when they were younger. "We can eat human food, it just doesn't really power our bodies. I will still need to have a glass of blood for dinner but I can appreciate your cooking."

With a wry smirk, Zoro walked towards their dorm, Sanji trailing behind him tentatively.

_Well this seemed like the start of a beautiful night_ Sanji thought sarcastically as he facepalmed. Perhaps he does need to read up on his fellow monsters, it would be just his luck to suggest something equally inedible to another monster and they might not be as forgiving as Zoro.

xxxxxx

Dinner wasn't a really fancy affair. There were no candle lit tables or sweet smelling flowers but there was Sanji's incredible cooking and a high quality glass of blood so Zoro couldn't really complain.

Watching Sanji cook was like watching a dance, the way he moved around the kitchen as if he owned it, it was entrancing and Zoro found that he wouldn't mind watching Sanji cook every day.

Not to mention that his very delicious backside was contradicted quite nicely with the chuckle inducing apron Sanji wore on his front with big emblazoning flowery letters stating "Kiss the Cook".

Zoro was sorely tempted to do that but he wasn't ready to jeapordize their friendship. They had only just started warming up to each other, it wouldn't do to endanger it. Though a small part of him whispered insecurities and the belief that Sanji wouldn't like him back. He liked to believe that the negative side of him didn't rule his actions but in this case, he was very much a coward who was too afraid of rejection to do anything.

And so here he was, basically having a dinner date with the guy and yet too cowardly to really call it that out loud.

Mihawk would laugh if he saw him now. Well, as much laughter a stoic seemingly emotionless person like him could. Which was probably not much. He would probably just internally laugh at Zoro's suffering but show nothing past his poker face.

Lost in his musings, Zoro didn't notice Sanji staring at him until he looked up and caught the blonde's questioning gaze, realizing belatedly that he had asked Zoro if he liked the food.

Clearing his throat he nodded and for extra emphasis took another bite of the pasta the blonde had prepared "It's really good Sanji." And it was. Zoro usually didn't eat human food because he didn't like the taste but Sanji's food was amazing. He might be a  _bit_ biased in his opinion because of who cooked it but nobody needed to know that.

Sanji smiled in response before eating silently, both comfortable enough in each other's presence to not fill the room with words.

Zoro sipped leisurely from the cup he had filled with the blood he brought. He always carried a flask of blood around for emergencies and even though this didn't really count as one, he didn't regret using it in this situation. After all, he usually went back to the storage room where they had a supply specifically for the vampires on campus (there weren't many of them anyways) and that was just too far away. He had just enough blood to feel full and coupled with the delicious food Sanji prepared, he felt weirdly warm and content about everything.

Still, when they parted ways to go back to their respective rooms, Zoro felt that there was something different about the blonde. He seemed more subdued and didn't really argue with Zoro much which worried him. Maybe it was just the fatigue though, so Zoro didn't dwell on it too much. He needed a good night of sleep too after all the events they've suffered.

Once Zoro arrived at his dorm room he gave a weary sigh and removed his swords, gently placing them on the bedroom table. Settling in, he closed his eyes and let himself drift off, residue worry for Sanji tinging his dreams with confusion and nightmares.

_TBC_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for reading this and a comment would be greatly appreciated. I love each and every one.


	9. Doubts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys are enjoying it as I pick up the plot although it's still kind of slow going. I'm trying to make each chapter about the same length BUT HOLY HELL IT IS NOT EASY WRITING THIS MUCH PER CHAPTER. I'm really not used to it but I'm trying my best! I have mad respect for writers who make those long chapters now.

xxxxxx

Sanji lay on his bed, resting his head on the arm folded behind him.

He knew that Zoro was probably worried, the stupid Marimo wasn't really subtle with those concerned glances he kept giving Sanji, but he just had a lot to think about.

Like the fact that something was still weird about the situation with Blair and Cain. Blair didn't seem like he was possessed, it was like they were two different people in one body. However, the Headmaster was right in the sense that monsters could not develop mental disorders so it couldn't be a personality disorder…

There wasn't really much he could do about the current situation though, he would just have to leave it up to the university to solve the problem. After all, he had already suffered enough and was one of the main casualties.

There was another problem that kept bothering Sanji though. And that was his weird relationship with Zoro.

At first it had been fun, he could tell the man was attracted to him if only physically and it had been so easy to act innocent. Enticing Zoro with the many tricks Ace had taught him was all practice for when he could hunt for himself.

But as time went on, and especially with the recent life-saving, it was really hard to remain distant and unaffected. He felt fond of the man. Zoro was a loyal person and sometimes dense but heartbreakingly caring for those he loved.

There was no denying it anymore, but he wanted that all to himself. It wasn't fair to Zoro though, with him being an incubus, he could never know if someone liked him because it was  _him_ or just because of his pheromones.

It was the sad and unfortunate aspect of his existence. Everyone wanted him, yes, but they only wanted him because he was literally made to entice people and use them for food.

Especially if what he suspected was true; that the mushrooms he had inhaled were the ones he recognized as a special type.

Known as the Desire fungus, the effects included using a person's desire against them, giving it a horrifying twist.

And if what he saw was Zoro confessing his love for him, then he was in too deep already and there was no going back.

It wasn't going to happen though, until he recognized the full extent of his powers and learned to control them, he couldn't trust that Zoro really liked him.

It would break Sanji if he thought Zoro wanted a relationship with him but instead it was all because of the influence of his powers. That wasn't what he wanted.

Sanji turned onto his side and hugged his pillow to his chest, aching with loneliness.

He missed his family, he missed that old geezer and his crude personality. Everything was so  _different_ here and people seemed to keep forgetting that he had literally spent his whole life living with normal humans.

All he wanted was to cook and make people happy, instead he was stuck in this suffocating University living a life he never wanted and wanting a life he used to have.

He shut his eyes tightly, willing himself to sleep.

xxxxxx

The next morning, Sanji felt a lot better and he met up with Ace as they walked to the kitchen. He was going to cook Ace a five star breakfast for his help in saving Sanji.

Sanji smiled indulgently as Ace rambled on excitedly about the hot new security guy they had for the dorm. Apparently the Headmaster had kept his word and yesterday, after they spoke to him, he had hired extra security for all the dorms.

"...and he has this ridiculous weird looking weapon. I think he's a werewolf though, he kind of smells like dog," Ace wrinkled his nose at that and Sanji sighed before turning on the stove, deciding on omelettes and bacon for the hyperactive man. "It's cool though! Last night when he was handcuffing me to the bed he told me his name! It's so unique. I mean who would name their kid Smoker?"

Sanji turned around slowly, grabbing his cigarette with one hand so that it wouldn't fall out of his gaping mouth.

"He what?"

Ace paused in his rambling, scratching his head with a hand sheepishly as the freckled man realized what he had said "Not like that, Sanji! I may or may not have been sneaking out to go frolic in the woods and he may or may not have caught me...several times that night since I tried to escape at least 5 or 6 times. It's not my fault though! You know I have a lot of energy and I need to burn it off  _somehow_ , besides, it was totally worth it because again, Smoker is so hot. I guess he got tired of running after me though, because he just handcuffed me to the bed which I have to say I enjoyed a  _lot_."

Sanji sighed and ran a hand through his hair, groaning in mental anguish when he heard Ace mutter "Hot like smoking, get it? Cus his name's Smoker." before bursting into giggles.

His friend was literally a teenage girl stuck in a man's body. He had no idea how Ace had survived so long.

"I'm going to pretend this conversation never happened." Sanji curtly replied as he turned back to the stove to lower the flames and flip the omelette. He quickly disposed of his cigarette in the nearby trash can, it was unsanitary to smoke while cooking anyways.

"But Saaaaaanjiiiiii," whined Ace as he slumped his body onto the kitchen table. "You're my bro, you're supposed to support me in this."

"I would, except," Sanji slid the omelette onto the plate before taking out several strips of bacon and settling them onto the pan to sizzle before facing Ace "you always move on from your supposed crushes within the week. I mean, just the other day you were flirting with  _me_."

"Yeah but you're taken now." Ace said dismissively as he reached a hand out to grab a bit of omelette but Sanji slapped his hand away with a glare.

Sanji was confused "I think I would know if I was dating someone, Ace."

"No, you're Zoro's and Zoro is your's. It's pretty obvious. I mean you have your scents all over each other." Ace said it as if it was common knowledge, as if Sanji even understood what he was talking about.

"What…?"

Ace took advantage of Sanji's shock to snatch the plate of omelettes, stuffing his face triumphantly. Once he finished swallowing a bite he regarded Sanji's confused face with a confused expression of his own before remembering "Oh right! You lived with humans your whole life so you probably didn't know, huh."

"Know what?" Sanji took a seat across from Ace because he definitely needed to sit down for this conversation, he had a feeling it was going to be something he really didn't like.

"Yeah well, we monsters have sensitive noses right? And I guess you never learned to use your's in everyday interaction, but for us, if we're interested in another person we touch them a lot. This leaves our 'scent' on them, it's to ward off potential suitors and it also establishes a claim. It's very primitive but it keeps our more monstrous sides content so hey, no harm done." Ace delivered this explanation as if it hadn't completely tilted Sanji's world on it's axis.

"Why do you say that Zoro and I belong to each other?" Sanji managed to choke out through his thundering heart and dawning realization.

Ace looked at him as if he was a dense idiot and Sanji realized that yeah, he probably should have seen this coming a mile away "Sanji are you serious? Vampires are not a really affectionate species, you would think that you would notice you're the only person Zoro ever really touches or allows to touch him."

Sanji gave a choked off nervous laugh because yes that was true but it didn't mean anything "I think you're mistaken, Zoro and I spar a lot so that's probably why we smell like each other. We have a lot of physical contact in our fights."

Sanji got up to check on the bacon, not wanting to face Ace for this conversation because he knew Ace wasn't lying but he didn't know how to feel about this information.

Scent marking was for serious courtship and he felt his hands shake as he grabbed the seasoning for the bacon.

He could feel Ace's serious gaze bore into his back. "Sanji I don't know why you're trying so hard to deny this. You have to know that you don't smell like casual touches, you smell like  _claiming_ possessive touches, ones that can't be mistaken as anything else." There was a pause as Ace seemed to sense Sanji's unsettled feelings.

"I thought you knew." It was a whisper but it was enough to jolt Sanji back into action, he mechanically grabbed Ace's plate and flipped the pieces of bacon on it before setting it back down in front of the man who was giving him a worried frown.

He smiled with fake cheer giving an excuse that he needed to 'go for a walk' before leaving the room quickly, ignoring Ace's concerned words.

This was not good. That was the one thing Sanji was certain of as he stormed out of the dorm, unsure of where to go but knowing he needed to clear his head.

This was really bad, he wasn't sure if Zoro was doing this on purpose or if it was Sanji's pheromones compelling him. He didn't know if Zoro really liked him or again, if it was Sanji's influence.

He didn't know and it was slowly tearing him apart.

There was one thing for sure though, he needed to stop this before it got any deeper and became something they would both regret. Until Sanji got his powers under control, Zoro and Sanji needed to remain friends.

He stopped at the edges of the forest, leaning against a tree before slowly sliding down until he could hug his knees to his chest.

Sanji sat there for a while, trying to clear his mind and not think too much.

He never asked for this. He never asked to be anything more than human and he certainly didn't need these complications in the only good relationship he had since he could remember.

There was no point in moping though and Sanji quickly got back to his feet, determined to find Zoro so they could talk about this. He was also quite angry about the fact that Zoro never thought to inform him about this development.

 _Way to take advantage of the uninformed incubus raised by normal humans_ Sanji scoffed as he headed back to the dorm, decision made and more than a little nervous for the conversation that he knew would not be pleasant.

xxxxxx

On the other hand, Zoro's day started with a rude awakening by the new dorm security, a gruff tough looking man by the name of Smoker. He had overslept and it was time for the weekly dormitory cleaning which he was obstructing.

Grumbling an apology to the cleaners and a sleepy glare at Smoker for banging on his door, he yawned and made himself presentable.

After using the bathroom and taking care of all his usual morning necessities, Zoro headed out to do his morning exercises in the woods.

It was true that technically the forest was off limits after the incidents and the killer that was still at large...but Zoro was never one to really follow the rules.

Once he reached his usual spot, he took out one of his swords and started doing swipes and lunges, stretching his muscles and waking himself up.

It wasn't until he automatically attacked a bush did he realize that his body had reacted to the presence of an intruder and there was indeed someone hiding in said bush.

Snarling, he attacked the blur that had jumped out of the bush and was satisfied to feel flesh yield underneath his blade.

The figure staggered back and Zoro warily settled into a fighting stance, unsure if the guy was a friend or foe but he certainly didn't recognize him.

"Who are you?" Zoro calmly questioned as he shifted, ready to attack at a moments notice.

Green eyes focused on him for a dazed second "Blai-" before slowly bleeding into red, the previous hurt expression changing into one of cautious fury "Cain" the man finished with a whisper as he straightened up. Zoro noticed with some weariness that the man had healed already and was barely bleeding.

But Zoro recognized that name "You're the one who took Sanji." It was a statement, and one that Cain probably realized held a certain amount of anger as he put his hands in front in him in a placating gesture.

"Roronoa Zoro. I did not come here to fight you."

"Then I guess this is going to be straight up manslaughter." replied Zoro as he unsheathed his other blade, and used them to attack Cain.

The man dodged and Zoro noted vaguely that Cain's movements were sluggish. He didn't seem in fighting condition and that, coupled with the fact that Cain wasn't fighting back made him sheath his blades.

The man was speaking the truth and he wasn't much for attacking someone so weak anyways.

"Speak before I change my mind."

Cain, who had jarred his shoulder against a tree when he dodged, leaned back against it.

"I'm sorely tempted not to tell you now, after your warm welcome." He muttered, dusting off his clothing and crossing his arms, glaring at Zoro.

There was a moment of silence and when Cain realized that he wasn't going to get an apology, he huffed and said "I came here to apologize for attempting to steal your mate."

The words took a moment for Zoro to digest but once he did he made a noise of confusion "Sanji isn't my mate."

"Partner, whatever. Either way, I didn't realize another vampire had claim over him because your scents were so intertwined it was hard to tell."

Zoro chose to stay silent, slightly uncomfortable with the fact that he wasn't as subtle as he thought in his scent marking if even a weakened vampire like Cain could smell it.

And yes, Cain was most definitely a fellow vampire. Zoro could tell and it was grating on his nerves. Vampires were rather territorial and he had the urge to destroy the man for the simple fact that he had touched Sanji.

Not noticing Zoro's murderous thoughts, or at least choosing to ignore them, Cain continued "I also wanted to warn you."

Zoro stiffened at that, hand on his sword, expecting a fight.

Cain sighed at that, annoyed at Zoro's constant paranoia "Can you not? I'm trying to help you here." When Zoro settled down with a disgruntled frown he continued "I noticed that your partner was not a vampire, that he was another species."

Zoro didn't bother correcting Cain's assumption, the faster he finished his business here the faster he could capture the guy and turn him in to the Academy.

"You remind me of myself. That's why I want to help you. As you may have noticed, there's another person in my body. Blair." Cain's gaze softened at the mention of that name "He was my lover and the Academy killed him."

Shocked but intrigued now, Zoro listened on in morbid curiosity.

"You think the Academy is seriously there to help monsters? Do you really think they're that charitable? Haven't you ever wondered why the Academy is run by vampires that we never  _see_? The only reason they killed my love was because he wasn't the same species as me. They wanted me to marry someone of the same species, to procreate and create a stronger lineage and to pass on the pureblood. I guess they didn't expect me to use their training against them when I contained Blair's soul inside my own body."

Zoro didn't know what to say but he had been with the Academy for so long it was hard to see them as evil like the man seemed to be suggesting.

"I didn't want to kill those people, Zoro. Please believe me." Cain's red eyes bore into his as his earnest stare showed that he wasn't making this up. "I had to gather as much energy as soon as possible to revive Blair's body. One body is not meant to contain two souls. I'm deteriorating and soon Blair will truly be dead to me."

Cain took a deep breath as if to calm himself down after such an emotional outburst.

He looked back up into Zoro's eyes, a clear warning in them.

"Zoro, your relationship with Sanji is so much like our's that I'm afraid you two won't be free from their wrath either."

Cain took another step closer as if to emphasize his point.

"At this rate Sanji is going to die. Just like Blair. And you will end up like me. Desperate and hunted."

_TBC_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for any comments you guys leave. There's one more chapter before it will be caught up to my pre-written chapters and then updates will be a bit slower. There is a set update time though and I'll tell ya'll what it is in the next chapter.
> 
> And yupppp you can tell shit's going to go down with some character deaths here and there….get ready xD I always planned for it to end up like this. It was just kind of difficult to steer the story that way because of my penchant for writing crack. But after a long hiatus I've found that I can actually write it! Which is awesome by the way and I hope you guys enjoyed it :D
> 
> Please do leave a comment or kudos, they make me very happy and I enjoy them quite a lot. I also respond to all comments :) So it would be nice to chat with you guys.


	10. Friendship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good luck.

xxxxxx

Several days after the confrontation with Blair and Cain, Zoro felt it.

It wasn't pain as much as it was a sudden awareness or an absence of feeling. Like something was missing. It was then that Zoro knew for certain that Cain was dead. His connection with the other vampire had been fleeting but it was enough for Zoro to sense this. There was no doubt that Blair and Cain had ceased to exist.

Zoro felt a shiver of dread travel up his spine.

xxxxxx

Sanji didn't find Zoro that day and he resolved to talk to the Marimo the next day.

The talk never happened however, because the next time Sanji saw Zoro it was at an assembly.

One of the higher ups of the academy, Akainu, announced the reason why everyone was gathered here: the killer had been apprehended and the academy would deal with him.

There were murmurs of relief among the students and Sanji himself felt as if a burden was lifted away, now that the man that had threatened his life was successfully locked up. When he glanced at Zoro in his excitement to see the man's reaction to this news, what Sanji saw was Zoro's pained expression as he clenched his jaw and glared almost murderously at the stage.

Confused, Sanji frowned as he realized that Zoro seemed to be sad about the killer getting caught rather than happy as he had expected.

Sanji catalogued that reaction for further analysis later, when he could personally ask Zoro. After all, he still needed to talk to the man about his excessive marking without Sanji's knowledge or consent and general rules about personal space.

However, things never really go as planned, and yet again, Sanji was unable to talk to Zoro in the midst of the preparations for the annual Christmas ball the academy had.

xxxxxx

 _The academy lied._  That was Zoro's main thought as he walked back to his room in a daze. His senses weren't wrong; Cain and Blair were dead. However, they made it seem as if they were just imprisoning them and giving the vampire a fair trial.

The reality was that the academy lied and this gave more credence to Cain's words than Zoro was entirely comfortable with. He had been raised to never doubt the system, but now, he had every reason to.

As the weeks flew by, Zoro found himself lulled into a false sense of security in the ebb and flow of students participating in the preparations in their own ways.

It was fascinating walking through the halls to see the teachers take advantage of this building period to teach students more hands-on applications of their powers.

He saw Robin directing a group of teenagers with a similar pale white disposition, the only indication that they were probably frost demons or at least some sort of ice witch like Robin, to build an ice sculpture in the front courtyard.

When she noticed him watching in fascination she gave a small smirk before holding one of her hands palms up against the sky and letting out a flare of crystallized ice, intricate and delicate designs etched into the thin sheet, before she released her hold on it and it melted into droplets again.

He raised an eyebrow at the showcase and refused to give her the satisfaction of seeing his excitement at the display. It was pretty cool and he always found the powers of other monsters constantly amusing and at times amazing. He frowned as he walked into the building that would be the dancefloor for the ball, it was their auditorium and usually there were hundreds of chairs covering the floor, but for this event, they were all removed and a vast expanse of space was revealed.

Zoro stared in morbid fascination as Luffy scaled the walls using his unsheathed claws to pull himself up. His destination seemed to be a hook on the ceiling that Zoro noticed now hung a beautiful crystal chandelier. Zoro watched avidly as Luffy hung upside down on the ceiling, the only thing holding him up are his claws dug into the ceiling, and he released his nine fox tails.

It was always a treat to watch Luffy let out his potential, even if it was for a little bit. He was a foreigner, as most legends of nine tailed fox demons originated in other asian countries, it was quite plausible that Luffy was the only one in this country.

However, even if he was not on native ground, Luffy had so much power. Zoro could only watch in awe as Luffy seemed to take a deep breath and his eyes flashed blue briefly before he blew out a long stream of flames, straight for the unlit candles set in the chandelier.

Zoro couldn't help slapping his palm to his forehead in exasperation because he could already see where this was going and it wasn't going to end well. Seriously, he thought Luffy was up there to do something actually useful and productive. Of course he would try to light those small, delicate candles with the firepower of a flamethrower.

His head quickly snapped up when he heard someone scream and he already knew he wouldn't be able to make it in time. Luffy's attack had melted straight through the hook holding the chandelier and now it was falling at high speeds towards the students that had gathered under it to watch Luffy.

 _Damn it!_ Zoro snarled, he wasn't going to make it in time-!

Suddenly, someone flew past him and he paused his hands where he was about to grab his sword. It all happened in a split second and in a blink of an eye, the chandelier was cut into neat harmless pieces.

Baffled, Zoro took a hesitant step closer to see who the person who had saved the students was. When the cloaked man stood up with that familiar afro hair, Zoro sighed in disappointment. Damn it, he had thought it was actually someone interesting but it was just Brook.

"Yohohoho!" The skeletal man laughed as he scuttled over to help a fallen female student up, politely asking for a peek of her panties before getting slapped for his efforts.

Brook was very much a mystery around the school. He seemed to be friends with Luffy and the usual group but was mostly on the outskirts. He was not a teacher at the university and there were many speculations as to what or who he was. Some rumours said that he was a type of monster known to rise only in places where a fearsome battle has taken place and many had died. The blood of both allies and enemies enough to summon a dark spirit of its own accord usually in the form of a skeletal soldier rising among the dead. It was said that this monster killed indiscriminately and without emotion, feeding on the deaths of soldiers, without regard to which side they were on.

Of course, this was all legend and it was hard to reconcile that gruesome monster with such a jolly skeleton. Zoro had demanded many times to duel Brook but the man always seemed to disappear coincidentally and turn up later on sitting somewhere sipping tea.

Zoro still hasn't given up on that duel and as he stalked towards Brook, he was determined to finally fight him.

As if sensing his intent, Brook turned around. When he saw Zoro he quickly darted out of the building, chattering on about being late for his afternoon tea or something.

Zoro glared after him but startled when he felt human fingernails dig into his shoulder with enough force that he almost mistook them for claws. He swallowed nervously before turning around, already anticipating the fiery orange hair and angered look the back of his head was probably subjected to right now.

Indeed he was right, there stood Nami, one of the most feared teachers on the campus and also one of the strongest witches they had.

"I had nothing to do with this." Zoro replied with a complete poker face. It was true after all, he hadn't participated in Luffy's stupidity and though he stood by and didn't do anything to stop it he was still totally innocent. Surely Nami would see the reason in that...right?

He shuddered as Nami's glare turned into slits of pure anger and he looked around for someone to help him.

When he met the eyes of Franky he gave him a pleading glance, one that said "You're already dead, it would be easy to patch you up again."

Franky was a one-of-a-kind monster that no one has been able to accurately figure out yet. He wasn't dead but he wasn't alive either and though that was a rather common theme in a lot of the students and faculty here, Franky was an odd case as he seemed to be a weird patchwork of different human parts.

There were whispers of his rampage before the academy contained him and brought him here, where among those who would not judge him, he mellowed out. Only a few know his real name, Zoro being one of them as he was part of their close-knit crew. Frankenstein, that was what the humans had screamed when they ran from him, avoided him, and condemned him. It had been a dark time but after two years in this academy Franky seemed to be much happier and smiled a lot more now. Zoro was glad, the current Franky was a far-cry from the Frankenstein that they had befriended.

In this moment though, Zoro almost wished he had abandoned the man early on as Franky shrugged, made a motion of slicing his throat in a "you're so screwed" motion before giving him a shit-eating grin. Zoro glared. That traitor.

Before Zoro could try and get himself out of his predicament though, salvation came in the form of Luffy dropping off the ceiling as he retracted his claws and neatly flipped and landed on the floor. It was still littered with crystal shards but even barefoot, Luffy didn't seem to be affected by the sharp shards.

Zoro could only sigh in relief as Nami released her hold on him and turned her wrath on Luffy who seemed oblivious to his imminent doom.

"Nami," Luffy whined and pouted as he stomped one of his feet childishly, Zoro wincing in sympathy at the shards now stuck further into the soles of Luffy's foot. "We were having so much fun, why do you have to come and ruin it?" It should be abnormal for a man his age and status to pout but Luffy has perfected it and sometimes even used it to make sure students finished their homework.

"You  _idiot_!" Screeched Nami as she hit him over the head with her staff, the one that only the best of witches could have. The staffs were created when witches hit their peak of power, usually it was a direct manifestation of their powers in physical form. It was very fitting that her's was a sky blue with glowing blue orbs that seemed to have a swirling white fog, much like clouds, in each orb.

No matter how powerful though, each witch had an affinity for certain types of magic. Nami's powers didn't allow her to fix things, she was a weather witch so she could only manipulate elements of the weather.

Nami sighed in annoyance as she used her staff to send out a small bubble that she whispered a message into before flicking it with her hand, sending it floating outdoors.

"I can't fix your stupid mistake but I'm calling in Robin to create an ice replica of the crystal chandelier that  _you_  broke!" She seemed actually upset about the broken chandelier and Zoro didn't know that she cared so much for the student's ball that she would be worrie- "This chandelier costs 10,000 beli. Ten.  _Thousand!_ I'm taking this out of your next paycheck." -of course, why did Zoro expect anything else. Of course it was about the money. He could only lean against the wall, amused, as Luffy whined about not having enough money to buy food to eat.

Zoro spent the rest of the day checking in on all the student's and lending his vampire super strength where it was requested.

Towards the end of the day, Usopp, a banshee had ran screaming into the ballroom and everyone panicked, thinking there was another death. Banshees predicted death through horrific visions and screams. The predictions came sporadically though, no one really knew why banshees could only see the deaths of certain people. It was usually pretty random and banshees didn't predict all deaths within their vicinity, just a select few. Since it was a prediction, sometimes if a person acted quickly enough they could stop the death from happening. They had called Usopp in for his particular set of skills when Gin first went missing, hoping that Usopp would be able to point them in a direction. However, when Usopp let out a heart-wrenching wail upon arrival to the academy offices, everyone knew that it was too late. They wouldn't be able to save Gin in time and he was most likely dead.

Fortunately, this was not Usopp's power making itself known but instead it was Luffy chasing after him with a giant snake on his shoulders, laughing at Usopp's terror. Zoro noticed the little Tanuki, Chopper, also running away from Luffy and felt a twinge of worry. Maybe he should help Usopp and Chopper…

The opportunity was lost though, when the trio ran back out, echoing screams of fear and cackles of amusement.

Zoro snorted, before shaking his head and settling against the wall again, watching the building and efforts of students around him and lending a helping hand whenever someone called for him.

It was a good day.

xxxxxx

It was evident that no matter how hard Sanji tried, some event always seemed to pop up and stop him from confronting Zoro. In the end, Sanji decided to simply ignore the scenting problem for now and focus on the ball. He wanted to have fun and that wasn't going to happen if he had a huge argument with Zoro right before the event.

As Sanji busied himself with helping his classmates prepare the rooms and courtyard (they mainly utilized his wings and made him fly heavy things back and forth), he spent a lot of time with Ace and had to listen to him chatter on about "that hot security guard Smoker" almost 24/7.

He appreciated Ace, he did, however, that didn't mean he needed to know that much detail about Smoker's "hot bod'". He had limits too.

Sanji knew that Ace really liked Smoker though and that underneath the enthusiastic descriptions of hotness, his friend was actually really sad that Smoker didn't like him back.

Or at least that's what Ace believed. Even Sanji could see that Smoker had a soft spot for the fiery man. The way the security guard let his eyes linger on Ace longer than anyone else when he dropped by to "make sure they weren't getting into trouble". Oh please, Sanji knew it was because Smoker wanted to see Ace.

That's why he almost let out an uncharacteristic fist pump when Ace slid up to him to start on their usual hammering and building with a worrying silence, cheeks tinged a light happy pink, almost bashfully telling him that Smoker had asked Ace to be his date for the dance.

Sanji grinned and gave the man a relieved pat, happy that his friend had found love, even when his heart gave a tug of jealousy. He wouldn't allow himself to have that kind of relationship with Zoro until he got his powers under control. Sanji hasn't been idle these past few days and in between preparations for the ball, he had Ace teach him techniques to control his pheromones. So far it's a bit of a hit and miss. Sometimes, he managed to completely erase the influence of his pheromones and other times he accidentally released more. He was making progress though and that was enough for now.

Their training sessions were put on hold though, when Sanji realized that with both preparing and also helping Sanji, Ace had no time to actually enjoy his hard-earned new relationship with Smoker. After the hundredth time Smoker showed up to watch them train or work under the pretense of patrolling the school grounds, Sanji gave a huff and told Ace that they could continue training after the ball when Smoker and Ace's relationship wasn't as new. Seriously, they were like newlyweds and actually disgustingly cute. Or as cute as grumpy cat Smoker could manage. Smoker seemed softer around the edges and generally happier around Ace though, as if the more excitable young man gave him something to be happy about.

Sanji shook his head in exasperation as he took a drink from a water bottle they had set on the ground before they started the training session. His eyes trailed after Smoker and Ace as they headed back towards the dorms, an easy and affectionate air about them as they walked, shoulders occasionally brushing from their proximity.

Again, disgustingly cute.

That didn't stop Sanji from smiling at the adorable sight.

xxxxxx

The night of the Christmas party came faster than anticipated, everyone still tired out from the preparations. It was worth it though. Every student dressed their fanciest before walking down the courtyard decked with ice sculptures and decorations that glittered and chimed beautifully as the cold night air rustled them, before entering the hallway transformed into a tunnel of vines and roses, courtesy of the nature oriented students.

The ballroom was breathtaking in it's beauty.

The chandeliers generated a dim candle light that seemed to flicker and lick across the skins of all present, and glowing light grey-blue orbs floated around, creating mysterious shadows. The stage in the center of the huge room had literal floating fairy lights above it, as the band playing for the dance today were musical faeries.

Sanji had arrived without a date. He had hoped, even though he really shouldn't, that Zoro would ask him. Sanji had even went looking for the Marimo, taking the initiative and hoping that Zoro would agree to go to the dance with him. He never found the green-haired man though and it was funny how they spent so much time together and suddenly they barely saw each other except for the occasional distracted 'hello' as they passed each other in the halls, rushing and helping with the preparations.

Sanji was optimistic that tonight he would finally have some alone time with Zoro and wrangle a dance or two out of the man.

He hummed in quiet contentment as he grabbed one of the champagne glasses from the plate of a nearby waiter, giving him a nod of thanks before sipping the bubbly red fluid.

Ace had been in charge of the alcohol, party man that he was, and he had excitedly told Sanji that he had imported human champagne for the party. Surprisingly, most people here had never tried champagne because it was considered a human sustenance and thus unnecessary and a waste of effort for them to consume. It was incredibly tasty though and Sanji could see the looks of approval throughout the dance floor as they drank the champagne.

Sanji was quite happy that his fellow students were enjoying a human concoction. It made him happy seeing as how he was raised as a human for most of his life. It made him feel like he belonged and that he was accepted here.

He finished the champagne glass and set it down at a table before grabbing another one from the waiter walking past.

 _Now to hunt down Zoro._ Sanji thought with a small giggle, he blinked rapidly at the drink he held in his hand. Wow, this champagne was much more potent than Sanji expected, and he quickly downed the rest of it before putting it down on a table. He wanted to be sober for the dance tonight and decided that he wouldn't have anymore alcoholic beverages until later.

Sanji glanced around the dancefloor where couples waltzed to beautiful music that the musical faeries played on the stage. Disappointed when he couldn't spot the familiar head of green hair, he headed towards the doorway that led out to the hallway and then to the courtyard. If Zoro wasn't inside then he was probably in the gardens.

Just as he opened the doors to the exit, someone entered at the same time and Sanji slammed his face painfully in the person's muscled chest.

Sanji quickly looked up, thinking it was Zoro but instead saw that it was Smoker. He tried not to let the disappointment show on his face but Smoker must have seen it anyways because he gave Sanji an amused quirk of his lips.

"Expecting someone else?"

Sanji was about to reply but it was then that Smoker took a deep breath. His expression went through a series of changes until it just settled on confused and slightly alarmed.

"I was looking for Ace...last we spoke he told me to meet him at the ballroom but I've waited for over two hours now and he still hasn't showed up." Smoker looked around, taking in the beautifully renovated ballroom with worried eyes.

Smoker took another deep breath as he made another confused sound and his brows furrowed in contemplation.

"This place reeks of him though…" Smoker kept glancing around the room, hoping to spot Ace within the throngs of dancing students.

Sanji cocked his head to the side, as he took a surreptitious sniff of his own. Strange, he couldn't really smell Ace but werewolves had the strongest senses of smell out of all the monsters so he didn't doubt Smoker.

"Does it smell like he's been here? Maybe he came in to look for you and walked back out when he couldn't find you." That was a reasonable assumption, as Sanji was just about to do the same and go look for Zoro in the courtyard.

"No...it's more like-" Smoker stopped talking as he frowned and then slowly leaned in towards Sanji who resisted the urge to lean away at the other man's close proximity. When Smoker sniffed his mouth though, Sanji was more than weirded out.

That thought was further reinforced when Smoker grabbed Sanji by the throat and slammed him onto the nearby wall aggressively, the commotion attracting the attention of students.

"Why does your mouth smell like him?" Smoker all but growled into Sanji's face, his face set in a terrifying snarl.

Sanji scratched at the choke hold the man had him in futilely, trying to speak over the crushing grip.

"Dude...I didn't kiss Ace if that's what you're thinking. That's disgusting, he's like a brother to me." Sanji coughed as Smoker's hold on him loosened, dropping him back on the floor.

By now a lot of the students were whispering to each other, unsure as to step in or to just let the scene play out.

Instead of satisfied with the answer Smoker now looked frantic. He grabbed a nearby student by the collar of their t-shirt before leaning in without any regard of personal space and also giving his mouth a thorough sniffing.

"No, you smell like him too." Smoker face grew increasingly stormy as he grabbed another student, a female this time and shoved his face near her mouth, taking a deep breath.

"You smell like him, you smell like him," Smoker continued murmuring like someone who had lost his mind as he went from student to student, everyone growing increasingly confused. "You  _all_  smell like him. What the hell is going on?"

Sanji slowly walked towards Smoker, a circle of student's around the man as everyone else kept a wide berth away from him.

"Smoker you need to calm down. We can't understand what you're trying to say."

Smoker's eyes flashed werewolf red as he snarled "Your mouth's! His smell is concentrated there and I can't figure out why."

"You're not making any sense Smoker, none of us have had contact with Ace in the last 24 hours and the only thing our mouth's have come in contact with is the food and drinks…" Sanji trailed off as his eyes widened, an epiphany just at the corner of his mind, one that he didn't want to acknowledge.

He grabbed one of the champagne glasses on the table nearby and all but shoved it into Smoker's face.

"Here, smell this." Sanji insisted urgently as Smoker gave him a suspicious look before sniffing the drink.

His tentative sniff grew into full blown deep breathes as he grabbed the drink, confused by what his senses were telling him.

"Smoker, what do you smell?" Sanji felt dread well up inside of him and though he could guess the answer to his question, he still couldn't bring himself to admit it.

"It smells like...Ace's blood," Smoker managed to choke out as his breathing quickened, a far-off almost heartbroken look on his face. "and death."

Sanji's brain was still trying to catch up to that information when they heard a scream from the courtyard.

It was almost comical how everyone froze and collectively looked towards the exit if it wasn't for the growing horror as people seemed to realize what was in that champagne.

Sanji and Smoker ran towards the courtyard almost at the same time and pushed their way through the students that were hanging out at the gardens as they followed the thick cloying scent of blood to the biggest tree in the garden.

The sight that greeted them would haunt Sanji for years to come.

He came to an abrupt stop, breaths coming in pants but everything seemed as if it was moving in slow motion. He faintly registered Smoker's presence next to him and the wounded whine that came out of the man's throat.

Ace, his confidant and always cheerful friend, was now reduced to a vague, mangled shape sitting at the base of a tree.

If one looked at his face, they could almost mistake his slack expressionless face as a sign of peaceful slumber. If they looked lower however, they would see his sprawled out arms, multiple puncture wounds and slits where his blood had been drawn. He was frighteningly pale and seemed almost ghostly white.

The worst sight however, was the huge gaping hole in the center of Ace's stomach. It looked as if someone had tried to rip out his organs bare-handed and it was such a clean wound that Sanji could see the bark of the tree Ace was leaning against through the hole.

Cut deep into his chest right above the gaping stomach wound were the words: One of a kind.

Sanji couldn't control it, he shoved his fingers down his throat trying to purge himself of the blood he had consumed and threw up onto the bushes as he tried to sob through it.

He felt disgusted and dirty, as if he had killed Ace himself. Now that he concentrated closely he could feel the surges of power through him, the after effects of consuming Ace's blood.

He didn't want this. He didn't understand what was going on.

Sanji felt familiar hands turn him around and hug him as he buried his face into Zoro's neck, still coughing and taking deep wet breaths.

"Zoro, Ace he- Ace, Ace, Ace,  _Ace._ "

He couldn't breathe, couldn't even wrap his mind around the horror and pain he felt.

Sanji saw, feeling detached and broken, as Smoker dropped to his knees next to Ace's body, wordlessly gathering the man into his arms. His face kept shifting between wolf features and his human face, as if the shock had taken away all control he had.

Through the mindless sounds of comfort Zoro made, a howl full of despair and heartbreak echoed throughout the academy.

Sanji felt like he was drowning.

_TBC_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well shit, that was rather horrifying. Let me just say that my friend (The same one who forced me to update. Let's just call her "A".), tried to stop me from doing this. She said it was too cruel. It's funny how she's on the reader's side more than me. Maybe that's because she's also suffering through the pain of reading this while I'm sitting here, writing it and laughing. xD But hey, the plot was always going to end up like this. I hope ya'll will stick through it. Everything does get better, don't worry. Shit's getting real.
> 
> I just wanted to thank everyone who anonymously commented or left a kudos or just decided to read my story to this point. I appreciate you guys a lot.
> 
> This chapter is dedicated to Artisfel and Scarheart99789 for leaving comments that motivated me to post this chapter.
> 
> Reminder: I have now updated up to what I have on my fanfiction.net account. Meaning updates will be, from now on, every two weeks on a Wednesday. Thank you for understanding. 
> 
> Comments do give me a lot of motivation though.


	11. Halloween Special A.K.A. That one obligatory troll chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So I’ve been told by my friend “A” that I didn’t put enough hints to sufficiently warn you guys about Ace’s death...so uhhh here’s a chapter completely dedicated to EXPLICITLY, VIOLENTLY HINT at it...you know, after the chapter he already died in xD EH Better late than never. I figured a chapter of nothing but crack was what we all needed after the last chapter.
> 
> Remember, the party in the last chapter was a Christmas party, this was about two months before that. It’s a Halloween party :D

xxxxxx

Sanji sighed as he twisted and turned in front of the mirror, a frown marring his features. In the bathroom nearby Sanji could hear Ace humming excitedly as he changed into his chosen costume. The rustling of clothing distracted Sanji from his own outfit as he tried to guess what Ace would dress up as. The man had refused to show Sanji his costume, saying that it was a surprise which was quite unusual for him since Ace was never one to let go of a chance to flaunt his outfit.

Sanji didn’t even want to go to this party but Ace had basically bugged him to go until he agreed. Sanji himself had taken the lazy route, deciding to just let out his bat-like wings and heart tipped tail and wearing his usual suit and tie attire. He was a “sexy business man incubus” if anyone asked. Seriously, the blonde didn’t understand why they even had a halloween event when they were literally all monsters. Dressing up as another monster seemed weirdly creepy and just generally invasive because he knew monsters and it would just be awkward.

Going as his own species was the better alternative and much safer.

Leaning closer to the mirror, Sanji adjusted his tie with great concentration. When he turned around to see a robed figure holding a scythe behind him he screamed a (very manly) shriek nearly braining himself on the mirror.

Although on a side note the red brain splatters probably would have looked really nice contrasted to the reflective mirror. Aesthetics.

ANYWAYS, after the initial scare that almost caused Sanji’s untimely death, Sanji finally calmed down enough to realize that the highly suspicious looking robed figure was actually Ace.

Ace struck a pose with his scythe, grinning smugly.

“So? What do you think?” Ace asked as he posed increasingly provocatively which just looked weird in a black robe that covered everything.

Sanji stared.

Sanji squinted and then stared some more as his brain went ‘404 error does not compute’.

"Um...it’s...unique?” Sanji tried to reply with that but honestly he was just really baffled. Ace’s choices in costumes were always of the same theme: mostly sexy, revealing, sexy, and just generally more revealing.

“It’s a nice change from your…” bunny costume from last year? Your “sexy zombie” costume from the year before? Your cat-stripper-doctor costume from the year before that?? Yeah Sanji honestly didn’t know how to complete his own sentence.

“I know.” Ace preened as he seemed to just ignore Sanji’s confusion and take it as a compliment. “Don’t I look drop dead gorgeous in this outfit? HA, GET IT??”

It clicked in Sanji’s mind then, what Ace was dressed up as. 

“Ohhhh are you dressed as death?” The robes and scythe made a lot more sense now.

“Yup! I play the part well, don’t I?” Ace winked at Sanji and made some lewd motions with his hand on the scythe.

“...you ran out of costume ideas didn’t you?” Sanji couldn’t help but point out, amused. Ace has practically done a sexy version of every known costume and he probably had nothing else to wear.

Ace started shoving Sanji out of the door in a hurry “And that’s our cue to leave, come on we don’t want to come in dead last to the party! I am literally the life of the party; things just aren’t as fun without me there.”

Sanji rolled his eyes and smiled as they both started heading towards the main auditorium where the party was held.

“I’ve been dying to go to this party!” Ace exclaimed as they barged in through the doors where the music was playing “We Won’t Die Young” by Ke$ha really loudly.

Sanji winced as he tried to adjust to the blaring music on his sensitive ears but he still managed to give an amused glance at Ace when he excitedly told Sanji “This is my jam!"

“Let’s go get some food and drinks first!” Sanji tried to tell Ace over the music and started tugging the man towards the buffet area.

“Oh my god slay me this party is beautiful.” Ace said in awe as they both took in the floating smoky orbs situated all around the auditorium and the real live bats flying and playing around the rafters.

The song changed then and as the first chords of “ _If I die young, bury me in satin…_ ” started up Sanji sighed in relief that they seemed to have lowered the volume of the songs.

Distracted as he was by the song, he didn’t notice that they had reached the buffet table until he heard Ace groan in disgust.

Looking at the selection of sad looking sandwiches and what looked like some child’s attempt at pumpkin shaped cupcakes Sanji couldn’t help but agree.

“Would it kill to have some decent food around here?” Ace grumbled as he half-heartedly grabbed a few sandwiches and put them on a plate, getting enough for Sanji too.

They had just started eating the sandwiches when both Sanji and Ace jumped, startled by a tap on their shoulders.

They hadn’t sensed anyone approaching and it caught them by surprise as Sanji choked a little on his sandwich and Ace chastised the man. “You scared the life out of me!"

Zoro only shrugged smugly, because that bastard had totally done it on purpose. He knew that a monster of his level was probably one of the only species that could sneak up on an incubus.

It took a moment but when Sanji saw Zoro wearing a t-shirt and jeans he was understandably confused.   
  
“So what are you dressed up as?"

“A human.” Zoro dead-panned back.

There was a pause as Sanji let this information sink in.

“...You were too much of a lazy asshole to even attempt a costume.” It wasn’t even phrased as a question because Sanji knew that was the truth and he was beyond amused at Zoro and his so called costume.

Zoro’s sheepish look was all the confirmation Sanji needed and he burst out laughing at the man. **  
**

“Well, I can at least say that you will be the only ‘human’ here in this party for monsters.” Sanji finally replied back once he got his laughter under control.

They stared at each other, both with amused and fond smiles on their faces before Zoro cleared his throat and said “That costume looks nice on yo-"

“Here!” Ace said gleefully as he shoved the cups of punch into Zoro and Sanji’s hands.

Sanji glared at Ace because he knew full well that the crafty man had interrupted their moment on purpose. His suspicion was confirmed when Ace just waggled his eyebrows at him mischievously before drinking some of his punch with a smirk.

“Wow...this drink is like...blood red. Very heavy on the stomach though, it sure packs a punch!” Ace laughed at his own joke.

Zoro took a sip of the drink carefully and then grimaced.

"This has alcohol in it.” He remarked as he put the cup down on the buffet table. Vampires didn’t like alcohol much stating that it didn’t taste good to them.

“Well you have to drink something, dude.” Ace remarked as he chugged the rest of his drink. “I guess I could let you drain my blood later.” He joked as he got another two cups for Sanji and him.

“I don’t want to touch any of your bodily fluids.” Zoro answered back as they started walking around, bobbing slightly to the death metal music now playing.

Sanji grimaced as the music grated on his ears but Ace seemed to enjoy it, stating an affinity with that genre of music.

They headed over to some of the game booths set up around the auditorium and looked around for any that would interest them. The party was more like a carnival in actuality with booths for games that most human carnival’s had except with a supernatural twist to them.

They spotted what appeared to be a throwing game that involved throwing a three ton ball at these giant crates stacked in a pyramid shape. Again, in the human world the game was played with a baseball and milk bottles but since most supernatural had super strength it would be way too easy hence the specialized version of it.

"Come and play individually or in teams!” The vendor exclaimed as he hefted one of the balls in his hands as if it weighed nothing.

The three decided to play it as a team and each member was given one ball. All three of them went to throw it consecutively and the goal was to knock as many crates down as possible. There was another team competing against them with their own stack of crates and whichever team knocked the most crates down would be declared the winner.

Sanji went first and knocked down a fair amount as did Zoro but when it came to Ace’s turn he completely missed the mark and almost dented the auditorium wall with the ball.

He winced apologetically “Sorry guys, I’m not that good at throwing games. Guess I’m just dead weight."

Sanji and Zoro were not too bothered by it though because with the amount the two knocked down they still won by a landslide.

The three walked away with new keychains in hand and smug grins.

“Oh shoot!” Ace whispered as he dove behind a booth, getting weird looks from the vendor.

Sanji and Zoro stood there in confusion unsure of what the hell Ace was doing.

"Ugh, hide me it’s that Magma jerk. We’re dead meat.” Ace whimpered out melodramatically.

Sanji scanned the party to see who Ace was talking about and noticed Akainu, one of the school administrators leaning against the wall and monitoring the party.

“You’re overreacting.” Sanji said exasperated as he tried to tug Ace out.

The incubus resisted though and shook his head violently “I only pranked him one time. One time! And he’s been out for my blood ever since. I swear he hates me.” Ace grumbled as he let Sanji extract him out from behind the booth, shooting an apologetic look at the baffled vendor.

Zoro watched the proceedings in amusement as they started looking at the other booths. 

“Does this happen often?”

“More times than I can count.” Sanji replied back as he tugged the still wary Ace to urge him to continue walking.

“He seems like a pain in the ass.” Zoro said bluntly, smirking at Ace’s indignant “Hey!”

“He’s a special snowflake.” Sanji conceded with some fondness.

"If you would stop talking about me like I’m not standing _right here_ I would like to turn your attention to that hot piece of ass walking in right now.” Ace commented sarcastically with his eyes glued to the entrance where Smoker stood scanning the crowd.

"Wow, there goes my self-inflicted belief that you had an innocent love for Smoker.” Sanji snarked at Ace as the man only seemed to leer harder at the object of his affection.

“Hey I love Smoker hole-heartedly. Doesn’t mean I don’t want to climb him like a tree.”

Sanji gave an exasperated glance at Zoro as if to say “this is what I have to deal with all the time.”

“Do you feel that?” Ace whispered dramatically as Sanji sighed and played along “Feel what?”The incubus grinned at Sanji “The feeling of my body burning in lust for him. Ugh that man is going to be the death of me. If Smoker doesn’t like me it’ll be like a hole opening up in my chest. I mean he has to right? I’m just so loveable.” Ace whined as Sanji seemed 100% done with the conversation and started walking away.

“I need a drink.” Sanji muttered as Ace followed him, laughing with great joy at Sanji’s suffering. Even Zoro seemed to be amused by the proceedings and in all honesty Sanji was actually greatly entertained by Ace’s thirst for Smoker.

“Ahhh I thought I would die of boredom at this party but I’m having a blast.”

Sanji couldn’t help but agree with Ace as he grabbed the cups of spiked punch and downed several, Ace doing the same.

They soon regretted it as a few hours later they were both throwing up in the toilet of their dorm. Thankfully Zoro had been painfully sober and escorted the two back to their rooms where they then made a mess of the restroom.

Once they had successfully emptied their stomachs of all content the two stood up and used the sink to rinse and brush their teeth to get rid of the disgusting aftertaste.

“I’m having a brush with death. Get it?” Ace remarked tiredly as he muttered around a mouthful of toothpaste.

Sanji groaned in annoyance “Damn it Ace shut up.”

The blonde still smiled a little as he rinsed his mouth though.Even if Ace was a pain most of the time Sanji was glad he had him as a best friend.

It was great to be alive.

_TBC_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And that concludes the Halloween special! I was laughing so hard the whole time I was writing this xD It was so much fun. Credit goes to my friend “A” who gave me ideas for some of the puns in here. How many dead jokes/ hole puns/ dead Ace puns can you guys spot? x’D God I am so amused right now like this was so much freaking fun to write. I love trolling.
> 
> We are now back onto regular schedule unless otherwise noted. I apologize for the unannounced hiatus but I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.
> 
> Reminder that updates are every two weeks on a Wednesday.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who read this and I reply to all reviews! Feel free to point out your favorite joke/pun and which ones made you laugh the most.


	12. Silver Lining

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I am atrocious at updating but more about the current status of the fic at the end note. Also THEY'RE FINALLY TOGETHER HALLELUJAH *Throws confetti* holy shit it took them 3 years of me writing this fic (On Fanfiction.net before I transferred it here) but it is now done. Enjoy this rather fluffy chapter to make up for the horror of Ace's death xD

xxxxxx

Sanji didn't remember the walk back to the dorm, too consumed by his mess of emotions.

He only vaguely felt the warmth of another hand in his as he was led back to his room.

Sanji stood outside his door, eyes unfocused and unseeing, mentally replaying the image of Ace's dead body over and over again.

He only snapped back to reality when he felt the hand try to tug away and he quickly looked up, meeting Zoro's concerned gaze.

 _I don't want to be alone._ Sanji opened his mouth and closed it again. The words refused to come out as he felt his emotions stuck in his throat threatening to consume him. He didn't want to appear weak in front of Zoro but- but he needed...

Without realizing it, Sanji's grip on Zoro's hand had tightened to the point of pain and the vampire took one look at Sanji's reluctance to part before opening the door to Sanji's dorm room and gently tugging him in.

Sanji closed the door behind him, staring at Zoro with a mystified look. The green haired man wordlessly took off his swords and the haramaki sash that held them, placing them carefully on the table nearby.

He then took off his white shirt and stepped out of his black pants before sitting on the bed to unlace his boots.

Realizing he'd been staring for a while in confusion, Sanji finally spoke, his voice rusty from disuse.

"...What are you doing?" He steps closer to Zoro who casually lifts up the blankets and fluffs up the pillows before crawling into the bed as if it were his own.

"Sleeping." The man replies before closing his eyes. When the silence dragged on for too long Zoro opened his eyes again and gave Sanji an expectant look. "Well? Aren't you coming to bed?"

Appalled but grateful, Sanji slowly stripped out of his suit until he was left only in his boxers, too emotionally drained to care that he was half naked in front of Zoro. After all, Zoro was also in his boxers too so at this point he couldn't bring himself to care.

Sanji carefully slipped underneath the blankets, the cool sheets a stark contrast to the heat of Zoro's bare skin.

He shivered reflexively and put a respectful distance between Zoro and himself, opting to sleep on his side as the bed wasn't that big. All his effort to make sure none of their skin touched was ruined when he heard Zoro sigh almost fondly before he was bodily pulled into Zoro's arms.

Sanji stiffened up, but eventually couldn't help but melt into his embrace, his back warm and comfortable against Zoro's chest.

The exhaustion was getting to him but he couldn't sleep. He no longer had the blessing of shock that in hindsight had protected his brain from the true horrors of what he had witnessed.

Sanji's mind raced, jumping from sorrow to anger at himself for not realizing something was wrong sooner. Maybe he could have prevented this. Ace must have been so scared and who knows what he went through to end up in that state.

Before Zoro had taken Sanji from the scene of the crime, he remembered witnessing Smoker's grief and pain. As the man kneeled next to Ace's body he had been eerily silent, moments later his body started shaking, the intense emotions forcing him to turn feral and shift. The campus police were luckily already on the scene and had restrained him before he could hurt anybody. He had growled and snarled like a rabid animal. His features twisted in mindless pain as his emotions consumed him. Smoker had let out howls of outrage that sounded so mournful it hurt to listen to. Even now Sanji still heard echoes of that call.

In a sense that was the only way Smoker could process his distress. Giving in to the animalistic side of him allowed that release and to show his grief in a way that the usually stoic man never would have allowed himself to feel.

"I can hear you thinking from here. Sleep." Zoro mumbled into Sanij's hair where he had buried his face in the blonde strands. "We'll deal with this in the morning."

Sanji turned onto his other side to face Zoro, tracing the man's features with his eyes using the scant moonlight.

Probably realizing Sanji wasn't going to sleep anytime soon Zoro opened his eyes, keeping his gaze on Sanji's face as they observed each other.

Without his permission his hand comes up to rest on Zoro's cheek, feeling the skin there with his palm. Zoro felt warm and alive, and some part of him was exceedingly relieved at this discovery.

Zoro lets him touch, leaning into his palm as Sanji slides his hand down until it rests on Zoro's neck.

"You know-" Sanji starts to say before cutting himself off, biting his bottom lip nervously. He seemed to be struggling with something within himself and Zoro watched on patiently as he always does, giving Sanji time to gather his thoughts.

Sanji finally seemed to come to a decision, a determined light in his eyes, and continued speaking. "You know, Smoker and Ace. Their story ended too quickly."

There was a pause as he took a deep breath trying to keep it together.

"It shouldn't have ended that way. They will never know how beautiful they could have been together because they took too long dancing around their emotions."

He gives Zoro a meaningful look as he says this, and the green haired man gives little indication of his feelings, staring at Sanji with his usual calm gaze.

Cautiously, Sanji inches closer, alert for any signs of rejection as he rests his forehead against Zoro's, closing his eyes to just revel in how intimate this felt and thankful that Zoro was allowing this moment.

Zoro had held his breath in anticipation and now slowly let it out, carefully setting his hand on Sanji's hip to pull him closer.

"They should have had more time." Sanji continues, unbidden, with his eyes still closed. "It will be a lifetime regret."

The man opens his eyes slowly, to find that Zoro was already staring at him, a soft smile on his lips.

Sanji's eyes flickered down to that smile and he let his eyes slide shut again, moving in to pause right before their lips touch.

"I don't want to regret." Sanji whispers against Zoro's lips in a tone so quiet that if Zoro wasn't already close enough to taste the words on his lips he wouldn't have caught it.

Bodies high with anticipation Zoro answered his words by pressing closer, gently giving Sanji a chaste kiss. They pause, a bit unsure before moving in tandem, lips brushing against each other in little pecks that eventually grew into longer kisses.

These eventually petered out too when Sanji yawned into a kiss, startling a chuckle from Zoro before the swordsman tucked Sanji into his chest, resting his chin on Sanji's head.

Zoro pulled the blankets more securely over them both as he wrapped his arms around Sanji.

Zoro closes his eyes and is almost asleep when he hears Sanji mumble "We needa talk about this…"

"Shhhh. In the morning. Sleep." Zoro replies before pressing a fond kiss to Sanji's blonde strands.

xxxxxx

It was a novelty, waking up to another body pressed against his.

During the night they had apparently changed positions and Sanji was now back to chest with Zoro, immobilized by the man's strong arms surrounding his body.

Zoro was clinging to him like a teddy bear and it made him smile, knowing the usually stoic man had a penchant for cuddling.

In the haze of slowly growing awareness that morning brings, Sanji felt the smile slip off his face as he remembered the events of yesterday.

He was pulled out of his mulling, however, when Zoro's grip tightened briefly before loosening, indicating he was awake.

"Morning." Sanji muttered as he tried to turn around to face Zoro.

In response Zoro tightened his hold on Sanji, not allowing him to turn around.

"Let's just stay like this for a while. We can have that talk you wanted." Zoro's sleep addled voice was slightly muffled as he pressed his face into the nape of Sanji's neck.

At the mention of the talk, Sanji tensed up. He had completely forgotten they had kissed last night.

What was he going to do? Should he blame his actions on the emotionally distraught state he had been in?

No, he was done running. He had wanted Zoro for a while now and it was time to face reality. If Zoro's mutual interest was only due to his subconscious influence as an incubus then so be it. Sanji would find some way to reverse the effects and free Zoro from whatever feelings he thought he felt for Sanji.

It would hurt, yes. Knowing he was so close to getting what he wanted, but he would not be able to forgive himself if he was forcing Zoro into a relationship he didn't want.

As if he could sense Sanji's turmoil the hand Zoro had placed on Sanji's hip started stroking soothing circles on the bare skin.

"I kissed you yesterday." Sanji started tentatively.

There was a pause in Zoro's movements as he gathered his thoughts and replied quietly.

"And I kissed you back."

"Yes...well," Sanji paused again. Damn it, he was usually much better at talking than this. But there just wasn't an easy way to tell someone they were being magically manipulated into a relationship. "You know I'm an incubus right?"

"I don't care about that. I know the higher ups have this thing about keeping the vampire bloodline pure but I don't give a crap." Zoro responded curtly, misunderstanding the intention behind Sanji's words.

"No, stupid Marimo, I know that already." Sanji said as he rolled his eyes even if Zoro couldn't see him do it.

"It's not that. Okay I don't quite know how to say this but...whatever you're feeling for me right now might not be real. I'm an incubus you know about the way my pheromones work. I can get almost anyone to like me but it's not what they really feel. It's just a by product and an unfortunate side effect of my powers."

Sanji paused, not sure what kind of reaction to expect from Zoro but the man was worryingly silent.

"I mean that most likely I've maybe accidentally coerced you into wanting me without realizing it and I still haven't learned to control my powers and now that Ace is d-dead," Sanji stuttered, heart clenching as he said that. "I will probably never learn how to control them and I don't want to do this to you because even if your feelings are fake I really actually kind of like you so-"

Sanji's rambling was cut off when Zoro let out a chuckle that steadily grew into a full blown laugh.

Confused, Sanji pushed at Zoro's arms until he let go and turned around to face the man.

Out of all the possible reactions to him confessing he might be magicing Zoro into a relationship laughing was not one of them.

"What?" Sanji asked, frowning now.

"No, it's just." Zoro took a deep breath, smiling at him. "Was this what you were worried about, cook?"

Slightly peeved now, Sanji held up a finger and poked Zoro roughly in the chest with it.

"Explain."

"I knew you were raised in the human world but seriously you should know by now how the hierarchy of monsters work." When Sanji only looked more confused Zoro sighed in defeat. "I don't know if you're adorable or just stupid, honestly I'm leaning more towards the latter."

Sanji's answer was to give him an offended glare.

"Basically," Zoro pointed at Sanji. "Incubus." Then he pointed at himself. "Vampire."

"Wow, Marimo I knew you had the intellectual capability of a sponge but now is not the time to revert to one word caveman grunts." Sanji sneered back.

By now they were both glaring at each other like children.

"Okay if you need me to spell it out for you. We are at the same level of power. Meaning your species' magical influence does not affect mine. Same the other way around. I mean of course we can still hurt each other with our claws and teeth or whatnot but I can't glamour you into obeying me and you can't use your pheromones to control me. We're both equally powerful so there's no point. It would just cancel out."

Sanji couldn't help the hope bubbling in his chest as his previous squabble with Zoro was forgotten. "Really?"

"Yes. Really, cook." Zoro smirked at Sanji who seemed to be slightly overwhelmed by this news.

It hadn't been a possibility for him, that Zoro's feelings might be real and now that it was…

"So…" Sanji pointed at Zoro and then himself before raising an eyebrow. "You actually want to tap this."

"Sanji, I don't understand your human slang."

"What I'm essentially saying is you actually like me." Sanji elaborated even as he made a mental note to himself to educate Zoro on human slang.

"Yes I like you."

"Like actually like me. As in romantic like." Sanji continued on, wanting extreme clarification.

Amused now, Zoro rolled his eyes before grabbing one of Sanji's hands, giving a small nip to a finger before kissing his palm. "Yes, I want to touch you all the time. It drives me insane."

"Oh." Sanji's brain seemed to have turned into a puddle as he watched Zoro not-so-subtly scent him. "Uhhh…"

"Eloquent." Zoro replied deadpan as he let go of Sanji's hand.

It suddenly occurred to Zoro that he had to also come clean about something and his seriousness must have shown on his face because Sanji looked worried.

"What's wrong?"

"Well...I may have something to confess too." Zoro started with a little bit of nervousness. He had been scenting Sanji without his permission and that was probably more unforgivable than Sanji's dilemma. After all, the pheromones problem was out of Sanji's control but Zoro had deliberately scented Sanji, believing that his feelings would never be returned and wanting to possess the man in some way.

"Oh my god, please don't tell me you want to like, eat me or something." Sanji said, startling Zoro out of his reverie.

"What? No!" Zoro replied, appalled.

"Oh okay," Sanji said looking slightly relieved.

"Why would you think that?" Zoro questioned, bewildered.

"Well I figured that my blood would be more enticing to you or something." Sanji muttered, realizing how stupid that sounded now that he said it out loud.

"Vampires have progressed far more than what you learned of us in legends from the human world. We're not barbaric, Sanji. We can sustain ourselves on only a minimal amount of blood. However, I can't deny that I do want to taste you…" Zoro's heated gaze dropped to the pale line of Sanji's throat.

"Well...that's good. I want to taste you too." Sanji confessed in a hoarse whisper, voice slightly wavering at the arousal he felt.

"Really?" Zoro murmured, brain filing away that information for later. "Another time."

His eyes flickered back to Sanji's blue ones as they both visibly tried to calm down.

Clearing his throat Zoro continued. "So, I know you don't know much about monster courting but I may have been doing something to you without your permission."

When Sanji looked worried Zoro quickly clarified. "It's not anything too bad. It's just...you might not like the fact that I've been doing it to you."

Zoro was met with only an expectant gaze and it gave him courage to finish explaining.

"I've been scent marking you."

Zoro held his breathe, wary of the other man's reaction.

"Oh, that." Sanji said nonchalantly. "I knew about that a few days ago."

Sanji must had seen the slight surprise in Zoro's eyes because he continued.

"Ace explained it to me. At first I was angry that you were doing that without my permission but I've come to terms with it." Sanji shrugged at the relieved look Zoro gave him.

"Of course I'd appreciate it if you would start scent marking me while I'm aware. I think I'd enjoy that quite a bit." Sanji said as he moved in closer, his eyes focusing on Zoro's slightly parted lips.

Instead of the kiss Zoro was expecting Sanji only tilted his head to the side, baring his neck.

Sucking in a startled breath, Zoro slid his palms up Sanij's side to rest on his neck, thumbing at the pulse.

He then leaned in and replaced his hand with his lips, leaving small kisses down his neck to his shoulders.

His hands started stroking all the bare skin he could get his hands on, marking Sanji thoroughly with his scent and gave a pleased rumble when Sanji hesitantly placed his hands on Zoro's chest.

When there was no protest from Zoro, Sanji grew in confidence as he also mapped out the man's body with his hands. Sanji traced the scar on Zoro's chest before moving down to his hip and up the corded muscles on his back.

They learned each other's bodies that way. Not necessarily sexual but as if to give each other mutual comfort as well as claiming.

Sanji's hands paused on Zoro's back, leaning into the now biting kisses Zoro was giving his neck.

"This is nice." Sanji muttered drowsy from being stroked like a cat.

Zoro only gave a satisfied hum from where he was trying to suck a bruise onto Sani's skin, marking him.

Leaning back after what Zoro deemed a sufficient amount of time, he observed the darkening bruise with primal pride.

He couldn't help letting one of his hands rest on the mark, pressing on it as if to ascertain its existence.

Sanji swatted his hand away, grumpily. "Oh my god, you brute, are you satisfied now? Can we take a nap?"

"Yeah." Zoro quietly replied, pulling the blankets over them again, a mimicry of the night before.

Feeling happier than he's been in years he pulled Sanji close to him before closing his eyes.

"Sleep, I'll wake you up later."

Sanji didn't reply. He was already content and safe in his dreams surrounded by Zoro's protective embrace.

_TBC_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I started college, my first semester actually and it was very difficult to adjust to thus the hiatus.
> 
> I recently came to the realization that holy shit I've been writing this fic for like 3 years now. That's just insane. AND LOOK AT THE WORD COUNT. This is literally the longest thing I've ever written.
> 
> Honestly though I just really want to finish this fic and I've estimated that there will be around 5-6 more chapters left after this chapter. The fic is coming to an end. Thank you everyone who has stuck with me so far even with my shoddy updating and stuff. This fic has been a labor of love though and I've tried really hard to keep it going even through some personal problems that keep cropping up. I'm terribly proud of it and I hope you guys will enjoy what I have planned.
> 
> I will have to go back to randomly updating as my second semester is coming up and I'm not entirely sure if I'll have time to write. However, the chapter after this one is half written so it should be up soon-ish. I know that Ace just died but just informing you all that shit's gonna go down again soon so...be ready for that.
> 
> Leave a kudos or if you're really daring, leave a comment so that I can feed the abyss within my nonexistent soul. Thank you!
> 
> Edit: I've finished the next chapter. There'll be an early update if more people review...the next chapter has that long awaited porn I promised you guys~


	13. Bloodied and Tainted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the next chapter! This one reveals some more stuff about what’s going on. Shit’s gonna go down in 2-3 chapters so enjoy the calm while it’s still there. This is the longest chapter I’ve written so far. The reason it takes so long for me to write these is it takes me around 4-8 hours to write one chapter. It’s very tiring. I hope you guys like it.
> 
> Warning: Does contain a lemon. Tread with care.

xxxxxx

No matter how much Sanji wanted to stay cocooned in his room with Zoro, he knew that they would eventually have to face reality. The school faculty would be calling an assembly soon, and he wasn't surprised when one of Nami's bubbles floated through the window to deliver a voice message.

"Attention all students and faculty members." The clear voice of his angel rang through the room and Zoro and Sanji sat up to better hear the announcement. "Due to recent events there will be an emergency assembly in the auditorium to discuss the issues at hand. We understand that many of you are still mourning but it is crucial everyone comes to this meeting. Thank you."

The bubble gave a pop of finality and dissipated leaving nothing but silence behind.

They dressed slowly, filling the space in between with small kisses and comforting touches.

"You ready?" Zoro asked as he put on his haramaki and adjusted his swords.

"I don't think I ever will be." Sanji replies quietly even as he opens the door.

It was mid afternoon when they stepped out and the winter chill startled a shiver out of him.

He glanced over at Zoro slightly enviously. The man was only wearing a white shirt as usual and black pants. Vampires seemed to just naturally run on a higher temperature.

In contrast, even though he had more layers with his usual suit, he still felt sorely unprepared for the cold as they walked across campus.

It wasn't just the chill in the air that made him feel cold, it was also the lifeless campus.

It was like Gin's death all over again. As if the death of another person on campus was draining the life out of everyone.

It was a solemn march to the auditorium, many of his fellow students looking pale and distraught.

When they reached the auditorium Zoro guided Sanji to one of the seats in the front, next to Luffy and their friends.

For once the usually cheerful man was serious. Sanji gave Luffy a long look, observing how the man looked haunted and withdrawn. He didn't know much about Ace's relationship with Luffy since he had joined the Academy late, but he did know that though those two existed in two very different social circles, Luffy being a teacher and Ace being a student, they had been extremely close.

It wasn't obvious to most people but Luffy and Ace had a bond that went back to their first days at the academy. Most of the students had been uncertain of this foreign fox demon but Ace had been one of the first to treat Luffy like everyone else.

He had accepted Luffy as one of his own stating that they were both unique monsters on this campus so they might as well stick together.

Ace's presence had helped Luffy grow into the person he was today, surrounded by friends and never alone.

Sanji wanted to say something to comfort Luffy but didn't know what to say.

In the end he decided to keep quiet and pay attention to the assembly. Meaningless words that came too late never helped anyone anyways.

Shanks was on the stage and the whispers around the now full auditorium died down at his mere presence. The Headmaster rarely showed himself and most of the students had never seen him before. They were all staring in awe.

The Headmaster gave the students in attendance a quick sweep with his stern gaze before speaking.

"Today we are here to speak about the recent issues occurring on this campus and to assure you all that we will do our very best to keep everyone safe."

A disbelieving murmur broke out in some parts of the crowd and Sanji didn't blame them, after all, it was kind of hard to trust the words of the Headmaster when two people had been killed on campus.

"The recent death of Ace was an unfortunate tragedy that did not need to happen. We are doing everything in our power to investigate the incident and make sure nothing like this happens again." Shanks says firmly, his words quieting the dissent among the students.

There was a hesitant pause before Shanks continued.

"As most of you have probably already realized the champagne was actually infused with Ace's blood. This was not an isolated incident and his murder was intentional. Whoever is behind this wanted students to ingest his blood. I know that many may be against this...but we have requested the intervention of the experts on blood related magic, the vampires."

At this announcement loud protests swept the auditorium, even as Shanks stood there calm and collected, expecting this outcry.

"We understand that a lot of you are concerned about the presence of several powerful vampires on our campus but they are only here to help." Shanks raised his voice, speaking over the noise. At his pacifying words, the students quieted down. "It pains me to admit this but the academy is ill-fitted to deal with blood magic and the only vampires present are Mihawk who's a mentor to another vampire student here. We need more experts to investigate this issue. They will not disrupt the normal school life but will instead be centered in the labs. Mihawk will be supervising them so everyone will be more at ease."

Sanji could feel Zoro tense next to him when Shanks mentioned him. This wasn't going well. There was already general animosity and discrimination against vampires to begin with but this would only heighten tension.

Not many trusted the vampires, fearing their all consuming power and the fact that they rarely cared about anything but preserving their bloodline.

In all honesty Zoro and Mihawk were probably rare exceptions considering most vampires were arrogant as well as preferring isolation in their rich mansions.

But then again Mihawk basically raised Zoro so that explained how these two were so different from the rest of their kind.

The students had slowly warmed up to Mihawk and his silent ways as well as Zoro's gruff exterior but there was no telling how people would react to these new vampires. Hopefully with the promise that Mihawk would be in charge it would silence any protests.

"The second announcement I have to make is that due to recent events...we will be allowing the Guardians full reign over the campus. In order to show that we truly have your interests and well being as our highest priority we will be introducing the four Guardians of our school, though some of you may already know them."

The students clamored excitedly but nervously, the Guardians were as much shrouded in mystery as the Headmaster and literally no one knew who they were. There were supposed to be four though and they secretly watched over the campus, making sure nothing would go wrong.

Sanji held his breath in anticipation, just as excited as everyone else even if he didn't show it.

"I present to you...our Guardians." Shanks gave a wave of his hand, and Sanji startled when Luffy stood up.

Even though he heard gasps and exclamations from others around the auditorium, Sanji couldn't take his eyes off of Luffy's grim face as he stepped onto the stage.

When Nami and Robin also stepped onto the stage Sanji was thrown by how he never saw this coming. He knew these three were extremely powerful, after all, the Guardians had to be the four most powerful people on the campus excluding a few faculty members who already had other duties. It's just that he's known them for so long as his friends that it was weird to think of them as some powerful entity.

The three of them stood there facing the crowd. Some students wore a look of betrayal while others looked like they had anticipated this.

Sanji felt slightly peeved too. Now, all the times that he got in trouble with the administrators made so much more sense. He would frequently boast to Nami about the often mischievous trouble he got into and it was within their job description as Guardians to report everything to the academy.

"I-I thought there were four guardians." Surprisingly it was the usually fearful Usopp that broke the stunned silence with his statement and whispers of agreement spread. They wanted answers too.

Shanks took a deep breathe, showing a flicker of grief for the first time before it disappeared behind his collected appearance.

"The fourth one was Ace." That silenced any more protests pretty quickly as the students were still trying to recover from the well-loved man's death.

"These three have been secretly protecting the campus to the best of their abilities. But now a Guardian has been murdered right under our noses. We intend to find out who did it and deal out a suitable punishment." Shanks' aura seemed to emit killer intent and even Sanji felt unsettled by it.

After a tense moment, Shanks calmed down and soon he was back to his serious facade. "We are still trying to figure out the killer's motives but until we do, everyone who drank Ace's blood must report to therapy with Akainu. He has brought in an expert therapist onto the campus who will be running tests on the effects that the blood may have on many of you. As a therapist, it is of course, also in his job description to help anyone who may have suffered mental trauma from this incident."

"Additionally, the Guardians will be taking over as head of the campus police. Smoker has not...reacted well to Ace's death and we are still trying to calm him down. He is currently feral and out of commission until further notice." Sanji furrowed his brows worriedly. He felt an obligation to take care of Smoker or at least help him in some way after Ace's death. He owed it to Ace. It couldn't be helped though, a feral werewolf was a state of being that maximized a werewolf's destructive power as well as blood lust. At this point in time Smoker would hurt many innocents if released with his lack of control.

"Due to our lack of staff, Akainu has volunteered to be the head of investigation on the circumstances surrounding Ace's death as well as the killer's motive. If any student thinks they have information that might help the case then please report to Akainu. Anyone who drank the blood must sign this form to go to therapy and get a health check up." Shanks handed the form to Robin who stepped off the stage to a small table where students were already lining up. "You are all dismissed."

Most of the students walked out of the auditorium in a sedate pace, low murmurings of how this would affect their futures rampant in their conversations.

The ones left waited around for the line to sign the form to get shorter, before joining in.

Sanji looked around him at the remaining students, all victims of the blood incident and who had all ingested a fair amount of Ace's blood. Their school was a small one because there weren't many monsters in the world but there were at least three hundred people in the auditorium left.

Incubus blood was incredibly effective as well as addictive. Ace had warned Sanji before of it's manipulative properties because by using it they could easily sedate their prey before feeding but it also had a side effect: addiction. If these students weren't treated, soon the traces of Ace's blood would be purged from their body and they would crave more.

Sanji shuddered as he suddenly felt like nothing but food for the rest of the students in the room. There was also the issue that incubus blood has never been spread in such a large scale, coupled with the mystery of how different monsters would react to the blood, it wasn't certain that this therapy would even help.

Lost in thought, he finally noticed that Zoro was still sitting next to him, quietly waiting.

Confused, Sanji turned to him. "I thought you didn't drink any of the champagne."

Zoro shrugged before replying. "I didn't."

"Then why- oh." Sanji cut himself off as he realized that the man was here with him for moral support, probably worried about his mental state after the assembly.

"I'll be fine by myself." Sanji said stubbornly, giving Zoro a hard look. He didn't like being treated like he was fragile.

Zoro rolled his eyes with a huff. "Calm down, Curly brow. I'm just waiting with you because it would be more convenient for us to get lunch afterwards."

"Wait- Curly brow?! And who said anything about going out with you." Sanji growled out, irritated. He knew Zoro was trying to be considerate in his own way, staying with Sanji and covering up his kind actions with harsh words. Still, Sanji was never able to resist Zoro's goading.

Zoro smirked at him before standing up and leading him to the now much shorter line.

"You agreed to going out with me last night when we were in _bed_ , cook." Zoro gave special emphasis on the implications of that sentence and watched, pleased, as a slightly flustered Sanji scrambled to get out of his seat and follow Zoro.

Sanji not so subtly kicked Zoro in the shin, drawing attention from his beautiful Robin-chwan who only smiled with her usual amusement.

"Shut up Marimo. Don't say things like that out loud." The blonde hissed before turning to Robin with a charming grin.

"I just have to sign here right? Gorgeous Robin, love of my lif-" Sanji's usual spiel was cut off when Akainu appeared behind Robin.

"No, you don't need to go to therapy." The man said curtly. "You're an incubus too, the only effect the blood would have on you is power you up. You'll be fine. The therapy is only to combat the side effects of the blood on other monsters as well as its addictive properties."

Sanji faltered at that, his grin falling.

"But, I still think I should go to therapy just in case-"

"I insist." Akainu interrupted with a hard glare.

Slightly speechless at the man's rudeness Sanji didn't know how to reply but turned to leave when Zoro pulled him towards the exit.

Robin gave him an apologetic look as he was dragged out of the auditorium, the fresh air jolting him out of his incredulous shock.

"What the fuck was that about?" Sanji growled out, irritated as his eyebrow ticked in annoyance.

Lighting up a cigarette, he inhaled the calming nicotine with an angry huff.

"Akainu's always been a dick." Zoro replied.

"Yeah but he used to at least be semi-professional about his distaste for certain students, now it's almost like he's fearless and outwardly showing his hatred."

"Well you know there's always those people that go on a power trip when situations like this happen and they're put in charge of stuff. It's all arrogance." Zoro reasoned as they walked back to the dorm.

"I guess...but it feels like there's something more to it." Sanji muttered, his instincts telling him something was wrong.

"Let's not worry about that. We can go back to the dorm and you can cook for me." The green haired man replied offhandedly as he entered the dorm, holding the door open for Sanji.

"Wha- hey! Why am I doing all the work around here? I thought we were going to a restaurant or something?" Protested Sanji, indignant even as he stomped off to the kitchen to do what Zoro suggested.

"Why would I want to go out to eat when I could just eat food that you made for me?" His question was innocent and Zoro probably didn't even know how almost romantic that sounded.

"Shut up bastard." Sanji managed to grumble out through his slowly blushing face.

"Oh? Looks like the cook is embarrassed." Zoro laughed at Sanji's discomfort as they went back to teasing each other. It made everything feel less stressful and they were both glad that this had not changed between them.

Perhaps things would work out. As long as he had Zoro he felt complete.

xxxxxx

As time went on, the few days of reprieve the school granted the students came to an end.

Soon classes started as normal, even when there was a sense of loss as well as a paranoia surrounding the students, people eventually adapted.

The therapy sessions were a bi-weekly thing and a lot of the students who came out of it seemed much better than before, the therapy having a noticeable positive effect on the students.

So far, no one has tried to attack him or try to drink his blood or something crazy like that and Sanji was optimistic that the therapy was working.

The therapist was one that Akainu had hired from his supposed connections, though no one knew where the man even came from.

Most students just referred to him as Law since he seemed to be about the same age as the students attending the school.

Sanji had heard talk of how attractive the therapist was but he didn't care as long as the man was good at his job and could help the students.

A lot of his classmates had a crush on Law though, including one brusque and very feared student named Kidd.

Apparently the redhead had started frequenting the therapist's office even when he wasn't one of the people who consumed Ace's blood. Law seemed to think of him as an annoyance.

Kidd is a Basilisk and even though they have evolved enough that they can assume a human form, it's still difficult for a lot of students to face him without fear.

Basilisks were one of the most dangerous and deadly monsters. Just looking at them could petrify your heart and lead weaker monsters to an early death via heart attack. As well as the fact that they had toxic breathe it was kind of hard for him to make friends when he was a living walking killing machine. His dark lips were natural and a side effect of the poison that was constantly emitted from his mouth. It unnerved many.

Kidd tried his hardest to show that he meant no harm when he first came to the school. He started wearing steampunk looking goggles to cover his dangerous gaze and adorning a huge fur coat that he used to cocoon himself in and cover his mouth like a scarf.

Still, centuries of fear wasn't so easily reconciled with and he ended up alone. The only one willing to go near him was Killer who was another Basilisk who had opted to go to the extreme and cover his whole face with a mask. That only seemed to scare students more though.

It was probably due to this isolation that Kidd became such a bully as well as an asshole. Now though, the man seemed to have his eyes set on the new therapist and Sanji kind of pitied Law.

Kidd was mostly harmless anyways but he was relentless and very persistent in his affections. Sanji would know because he had to endure Kidd's fumbling attempts at courtship back when he first joined the school and had less control over his pheromones.

Thankfully once Ace taught him the basics of being an Incubus 101 he managed to tone down his pheromone influence to a tolerable level. Enough that when before he had been surrounded by potential suitors he now only had one Marimo that had stubbornly latched onto him through every ordeal he went through.

He was grateful for that.

As if sensing Sanji's thoughts, Zoro turned in his seat to give Sanji a quizzical look.

Sanji shook his head with a smile, mouthing "After class."

He turned his attention back on Nami as she lectured on the ways different weather patterns affected the power levels of monsters.

xxxxxx

Sanji was packing his books away when he felt a familiar presence loom over his desk.

Glancing up he saw Zoro silently waiting for him to finish up and Sanji smiled.

It was nice having someone with him who truly cared. Sometimes, in his loneliest moments, his thoughts went back to Zeff and he would question if coming here was the right choice.

"Come on Sanji, we're going to go train." Zoro's words interrupted his melancholic musing before it could get more depressing.

Quickly shoving the rest of his stuff in his bag, he waved goodbye to Nami as he walked out and Zoro gave her a curt nod as well.

Ever since the incident with Gin and Blair, the forest was more heavily guarded than usual and a lot of the students who used to sneak out there to train (namely Zoro) now had to do it in the training grounds built for combat.

It wasn't as fun doing it on an open field. It was always so much more exhilarating chasing Zoro through the trees, narrowly dodging attacks from the swordsman as he flew.

The training grounds already had small clusters of students doing their own training. Another reason why Sanji didn't like fighting here was because witnessing an incubus fight was such a rare sight that everyone would always stare at him like he was a showhorse.

He wasn't here to put on an entertaining show. He was here to train.

"Okay, Marimo. You ready?" Sanji smirked as he lit a cigarette and calmly tapped his shoes on the floor.

Even though as an incubus he had an array of powers, he rarely used them. Zeff had taught him to use his legs and feet as weapons and by doing so it made him feel closer to the old man. Besides, he always felt like he had an unfair advantage when he used incubus powers.

However, this time was different from the rest.

"Let's see what you've got." Zoro grimly replied as he unsheathed all three swords, going into serious mode. "We need to figure out what that blood did to you and what new powers you may have. Remember to fight me without holding back."

"Right." Sanji sighed as his nails slowly grew into deadly claws and he let his leathery wings burst out of his back, his tail also uncoiling to whip out behind him.

He shuddered at the weird feeling of his wings unfurling. It often felt like cool water washing over his bones, like tense muscles that finally relaxed after a long time.

He did not let out his wings as often as he should and they felt stiff.

Sanji flapped them a few times, the bursts of wind lifting him from the ground slightly until he was hovering.

His senses were enhanced and he grimaced in annoyance as the students stopped their training to openly gape. This was new for them too. Whenever Sanji did train in the open field it was usually with his legs and he never used his incubus powers.

The two monsters faced each other, a tension building between them until Sanji rushed forward, his wings propelling him at high speeds towards Zoro with a feral grin.

It was breathtaking, being able to go all out and not hold back, confident in Zoro's ability to hold his own. The man wasn't even using his vampire powers yet, just his swordsmanship, but that was already formidable.

Zoro seemed to anticipate Sanji's movements and slashed down with the two swords in his hands.

Gritting his teeth, Sanji tried to stop before he came in contact with Zoro's swords but he had put too much power into his flight.

Instinctively Sanji's wings bent forward, shielding his body and Zoro's swords made a metallic clanging sound as it came in contact with the wings.

Sparks flew from the impact and they were both pushed back from the force.

Panting from the adrenaline, Sanji slowly moved his wings until they were spread in back of him again, checking them for damage. There wasn't even a scratch on them.

"What the fuck was that?" Sanji questioned, bewildered, his hands coming up to run along the places where Zoro should have sliced open. "Since when were my wings able to withstand a blade? They're leather."

Zoro used one hand to take the sword out of his mouth, cracking his jaw as he went.

His eyes sparkled with interest as he grinned. "Must be one of your new power ups, cook. Let's keep going."

"Wait, Zoro-" Sanji started to protest, wanting to investigate his wings more, but Zoro was already charging at him.

Cursing, he flew up. High enough that Zoro wouldn't be able to cut him.

With a triumphant look at having dodged Zoro's attack, Sanji dove down towards Zoro, claws reaching out to sink into flesh like a bird of prey. He saw the smirk on Zoro's face but it was too late.

Zoro used his swords to create a small tornado that threw Sanji off of his flight path and flung him towards the ground a few meters away.

Sanji quickly recovered with a growl, backflipping out of his position on the ground and throwing a flying kick at Zoro's head.

Their training went on like that, getting increasingly destructive until the students had to evacuate the field lest they get caught in the crossfire.

Eventually someone had to call Nami down to break up their training that had turned into an actual intense fight.

With a quick flick of her hand she materialized a bubble of cold water and dumped it onto both Sanji and Zoro's head.

Sputtering, they finally stopped.

xxxxxx

"I can't believe that witch gave us detention." Zoro grumpily said as he stripped out of his soaked clothes in Sanji's room.

"It's a training ground. We were training. Why are we getting punished for that?" Zoro grouched as he shivered and put down his swords gently on the table before sitting on Sanji's bed, his legs dangling off the edge.

Sanji only chuckled at Zoro's almost childish complaining as he followed Zoro's example and peeled off the suit sticking to his skin uncomfortably.

"Well, we did destroy half the training ground." Sanji reminded Zoro as he went over to stand in front of the green haired man who had grabbed a towel and started rubbing his short strands dry.

Gently swatting Zoro's hands away, Sanji took control of the towel and helped Zoro dry the rest of his hair.

Lifting the towel off Zoro, Sanji had planned to use it to dry his own wet, blonde stands but that plan was derailed when he caught sight of Zoro's puffy looking green hair coupled with a still indignant pout.

Entranced, Sanji dropped the towel before reaching a hand out to lift Zoro's head up to meet his lips in a kiss.

"Wha-mmph!" Zoro's questioning tone was cut off when Sanji pressed his chilled lips to Zoro's, both shuddering at the contrast in temperature with the wet heat of their mouths and the rest of their body.

Acutely aware that they were both wearing nothing but boxers that clung wetly to their skin, leaving nothing to the imagination, Zoro pulled Sanji on top of him as he leaned back on the bed.

Kissing more urgently now, Sanji straddled Zoro's stomach, the heat of his slowly growing erection all the more obvious against Zoro's chilled skin.

Zoro broke the kiss for air and panted against Sanji's mouth, looking slightly dazed.

"We should...warm up." Zoro said, planning on getting them both a warm bath as he tried to gather his scattered thoughts.

"Yes...we should." Sanji replied with a smirk as he slowly slid down Zoro's body before leaving a small kiss on Zoro's navel.

"What are you doing- ah." Zoro let out a surprised moan as Sanji gave biting kisses and licks along the edge of Zoro's boxers.

"I'm warming us up." Sanji answered his question, distracted as he spread Zoro's legs, the man letting him position him willingly.

Using the now empty space between Zoro's legs to his advantage, Sanji sucked bruising marks up Zoro's inner thighs, his hot breath grazing over Zoro's now prominent erection.

Sanji laughed in delight when Zoro gave a frustrated growl. "Can you just touch me already? Stop teasing."

"Oh? But I am touching you…" As if to emphasize that point Sanji gave a long lick up Zoro's stomach to his chest.

"You know what I mean." Zoro replied, panting. It was getting harder and harder to think, Sanji's fingers would teasingly ghost over where he needed them the most only to grip his hip or something equally innocuous.

Taking pity on Zoro, Sanji took off Zoro's boxers, breath catching at the sight.

He couldn't help but give an aroused moan at the image of Zoro spread out, his cock slowly leaving behind a drop of precum on his toned stomach.

"Zoro…" Sanji tried to catch the attention of the man who had closed his eyes tight at the pleasure.

Zoro met Sanji's heated gaze, barely coherent.

"Can I taste you?" Sanji asked almost hesitantly.

Zoro groaned, beyond aroused as his hips gave an involuntary thrust up, seeking friction.

"Don't ask stupid questions." He replied, smirking up at Sanji.

In retaliation to his snark Sanji gave no warning before slipping Zoro's length into his mouth.

"Fuck-!" Zoro bit into his arm, trying to stifle his sounds of pleasure before he alerted the whole dorm of their activities.

Sanji gave a long hum in reply, the vibrations giving Zoro so much pleasure it was almost painful in its intensity.

His mouth couldn't fit all of Zoro so he used his hand to pump the remaining parts of Zoro's cock that he could reach.

Without his control, Zoro's hips had started slowly undulating, though he tried to stop himself from thrusting up and choking Sanji.

As if to encourage his thrusting, Sanji relaxed his throat before taking all of Zoro in, swallowing around his cock.

"Sanji, ahh."

Zoro's pleasured moans caused Sanji to grow even more aroused. Unable to take it any longer, Sanji used one hand to support himself as his other reached into his own boxers to give hard strokes to his length.

He whimpered as the taste and weight of Zoro on his tongue coupled with the feel of his hand pumping his cock almost pushed him over the edge.

"Sanji, I'm going to-" Zoro gasped out as he grabbed at Sanji's hair, trying to warn him.

Sanji released Zoro's cock with a wet and satisfying pop, a string of saliva still connecting him to Zoro's tip.

Letting go of his own length, Sanji concentrated on getting Zoro to cum, stroking his cock while giving a twist at the tip. Leaning back down, Sanji mouthed at Zoro's balls, sucking on them with a pleased hum.

He felt when Zoro came, his entire body tensing for a pivotable moment before relaxing, boneless.

Giving one last lick to Zoro's now oversensitive balls, Sanji looked back up to see Zoro blissed out, chest heaving.

"You know," Sanji nonchalantly commented as he sat back up and dipped a finger in the mess of cum on Zoro's stomach. "I was going to let you cum in my mouth but I realized...it would be much more enjoyable to lick it off of your body once you're satisfied."

Sanji locked eyes with Zoro's incredulous ones as he licked the white substance off his finger before leaning down to give long licks up Zoro's stomach and cock, cleaning him off.

Zoro's member gave a twitch in a valiant attempt to get hard again but he was truly drained.

"Come 'ere." Zoro muttered sleepily as he dragged Sanji up until his hand could reach Sanji's cock.

Pushing the now dry boxers off Sanji, Zoro used his hand to stroke Sanji until he was a trembling mess above him.

The blonde was making such enticing little mewls and choked off moans of satisfaction that Zoro couldn't help but suck some dark bruises into the pale neck that Sanji so kindly left open for him.

Zoro's other hand was occupied stroking down Sanji's back and palming his ass, trying to bathe him in his scent, until everyone would know that Sanji was his.

He gave a hard bite into Sanji's shoulder with his blunt human teeth, wanting to mark him and to make it last.

That seemed to be the last straw for Sanji as the pain mixed with the pleasure Zoro was giving him pushed him over the edge.

"Zoro!" Sanji cried out his name as he came hard, covering Zoro's hand with his cum.

Zoro kept stroking Sanji's cock through his orgasm, prolonging the pleasure until it became unbearable for his oversensitive length.

"Zoro that's enough." Sanji says as he gives a weak shove at Zoro's arm.

"Hm?" Zoro was distracted by the feel of Sanji's cum in his hands and was hit with a desire to taste him.

Flipping them over, Zoro started returning the favor and licked Sanji's cock clean before Sanji even registered that their positions had changed.

He could only hold onto Zoro's short strands as he was pampered, giving a full body shudder when Zoro gave a wet kiss to the tip of his cock.

"That's enough, too sensitive." Sanji tiredly said, tugging at Zoro until he came back up to rest beside Sanji, an arm thrown over the blonde's waist.

Zoro stared at the dark marks that stood out very obviously on Sanji's pale neck with a vicious sense of pride.

"-warm yet?" Distracted by the warm feeling in his heart, Zoro's happy smile grew a bit confused at Sanji's amused look.

"What? Sorry I was uh, distracted."

Rolling his eyes Sanji repeated his question with a smirk.

"So, did I warm you up?"

Giving a content chuckle Zoro nuzzled closer to Sanji, giving him a peck on the lips.

"If this is how you warm up people I'll have to get cold more often." Zoro replied snarkily.

Laughing, Sanji shoved at Zoro.

"Shut up asshole."

"Make me." Zoro gave a playful growl before throwing his weight on Sanji.

They laughed and had a short wrestling match before eventually tiring out and falling asleep, happy.

_TBC_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So…*Jazz hands* PORN. Yup I did the thing I promised :D This is the first actual porn scene I’ve ever written. I am unsure of how it turned out. Like or no like? There will definitely be more though. I did promise at least 3 porn scenes to the winners of the game I had before.
> 
> DID YOU SEE THE KIDD/LAW?? Ugh one of my fave ships too.
> 
> *Throws confetti* My porn writing virginity has now been taken. Bless.
> 
> Please comment or kudos and tell me what you guys think. I love hearing from you guys and it gives me fuel to power the vessel that I’m possessing. Thank you! Comments give me a lot of motivation so more comments=much earlier chapter updates. They are kind of like the thing that reminds me to write otherwise I completely forget.


	14. A Siren's Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy! Sorry for the long wait. Only a few more chapters left. Ugh it's almost over guys...I'm so sad. I have some really cool stories planned out and I've written a lot halfway, jumping back and forth between stories. However, I want to finish all the ones I have uploaded first or at least start finishing them as a main focus before I upload more. The ones I have planned...I think you guys will like them.

xxxxxx

"So, describe how Ace's blood tasted."

"It was...I thought it was champagne, though the taste was odd."

"Odd? Wouldn't you say it was warm, like something you would want another taste of?"

"What? No! It-it's blood and it's Ace's blood, I couldn't-"

"But putting that aside, it was exquisite, wasn't it? The taste. The texture. The way it warmed your whole body and made you crave more."

"Yes...I guess you could say it was like that."

"Like the most delicious thing you've ever drank. Something that quenched your thirst and left you wanting more. You want more, don't you?"

"Yes, more would be nice."

"Exactly, and you know where to get more. There's only one person on this campus that holds all that delicious blood."

"Yes, Sanji. I'm sure if I just ask he'll give me some. He has to share...it's not fair he has it all to himself."

"Not yet. When the time comes, you'll get your taste. Until then, you'll continue being a friend and classmate of Sanji's. When Akainu commands you, you will obey."

"...yes."

xxxxxx

"And that concludes our therapy session for today." Law says as he closes the medical folder in his hands with a decisive sound, snapping his patient out of his daze.

The man looks around a bit confused, probably because he's spent the better part of his therapy session under Law's compulsion charm. As the weeks went by it was getting easier and easier to manipulate the students. Even the most stubborn and mentally strong of them were starting to bend to his will.

"Oh...yeah. Thanks Doctor Law. I think these therapy sessions are helping. I've been feeling more relaxed lately." The student spoke, relieved.

Law gave him a half-hearted smirk before shooing him out of the room.

"Excellent, now go. You're not my only patient and you're wasting my time."

"Of course." He says, scrambling to obey. He gives a cheerful wave at Law before exiting the office, just like every other student that had come in here for "therapy". Each one leaving none-the-wiser to the manipulation on their mind.

Law sighed in frustration, anger causing him to tug a bit harsher than he intended as he raked a hand through his hair.

How much longer did he have to do this? Using his siren powers for this was beneath him. But to save his crew from that bastard Akainu he had to do this-

"...Doctor?" A voice calls out hesitantly from outside the office door, breaking Law's train of thought.

Law looks up, putting on his usual disinterested face as he takes a deep breathe.

These poor bastards weren't even ready for what was about to come.

"Come in."

xxxxxx

Sanji looked up from reading his cookbook when there was a knock on his door.

Already sensing it was the Marimo he rolled his eyes and went back to his book, arranging himself more comfortably in his bed.

"Oy, cook." Zoro's voice sounded through the door, muffled, but Sanji could still hear the undercurrents of annoyance.

"Sorry, I don't speak seaweed or plant. You'll have to try again another time."

Amused now, Sanji heard the expected growl of anger and waited for the usual follow up of banging on his door and threats before Sanji would eventually cave and let Zoro in.

Instead, he was met with silence.

Frowning now, he put down his book, marking his place before tilting his head, listening.

Strange. It wasn't like Zoro to give up.

These past few weeks they've developed a sort of routine. Every night, Zoro would come disturb him, usually making some flimsy excuse about training and sparring. Eventually they just ended up laying in bed or sitting comfortably next to each other in silence, enjoying the other's company.

It was their bizarre way of teasing each other and Sanji worried if maybe Zoro had finally grown tired of it.

Cautiously, he silently stepped over to the door, putting his ear against it.

Hearing nothing, he stood back and stared at the wooden door, debating. He felt worried but at the same time it wasn't his fault if the Marimo couldn't take a bit of teasing…

Curiosity getting the best of him, he slowly opened the door and peeked his head out, looking left and right down the empty hallway.

Sighing, he stepped back into his room, sure that he had annoyed the Marimo a bit too far this time.

Instead, a blur of green dropped down from the ceiling and he barely got out a yelp of surprise before that blur tackled him into the room.

The impact caused him to slam the door shut, the momentum tumbling him to the ground, a solid weight on top of him.

Groaning, he opened his eyes and glared at the smug grin that Zoro had on his face. The stupid muscle head probably thought he got the best of him.

Smirking back, Zoro only showed a brief flash of surprise before Sanji successfully flipped the man onto his back.

Now Zoro wasn't as smug and Sanji leaned down from his perch on Zoro's stomach, his strong legs pinning the green haired man down.

"Looks like I caught myself some vegetation." Sanji said teasingly as he bit Zoro's ear lightly, tugging at his earrings.

A shudder went through the man's body and Sanji leaned back to see with a great amount of satisfaction that Zoro looked helplessly aroused.

Not like he was going to do anything about that though. He had a book to read that he had been quite enjoying before Zoro interrupted him.

Standing up, Sanji brushed himself off before going back to his bed.

Zoro seemed to lay on the floor a moment longer, collecting his scattered thoughts before getting up stiffly.

"So Marimo, what brings you here today?" Sanji hid his smile with his book, settling back in comfortably and leaving Zoro to his own devices. The flimsy excuses Zoro always made to see him amused Sanji a lot and every one was as ridiculous as the first.

Zoro opened his mouth and then closed it again, glaring at Sanji and knowing the man was enjoying this way too much.

An idea dawned on him then and he smirked before slowly stalking towards Sanji, almost like cornering prey.

"What? I can't come see my lover?" Zoro almost stuttered at the lover part. Saying it was still not something he was used to but the desire to embarrass Sanji overpowered any embarrassment of his own.

As predicted Sanji seemed to look shocked for a moment before blushing and breaking his gaze to stare intently at his book.

Mission accomplished, Zoro slid into the bed with Sanji, lying stomach down and folding his arms to rest his head on.

He was content with just basking in Sanji's presence because pretty soon Sanji would-

Ah, there. Zoro almost purred in contentment when Sanji started his distracted stroking of Zoro's hair as well as tracing his back.

Zoro discovered this pleasant quirk of Sanji's the first time they'd laid in bed like this. Sanji had been concentrating on a book and he had been on the edge of a nap when Sanji's touch almost startled him.

At first he had thought the cook wanted more sex or something but they were absent minded touches, like petting.

It was affectionate and with time Zoro learned that he really enjoyed this treatment.

It was comforting and definitely something he didn't mind.

Zoro was almost fast asleep when he felt Sanji stop petting him. Frowning, he sleepily head butted the hand still resting on his hand, hoping the push would compel Sanji to start petting him again.

When nothing happened, Zoro glared up at the blond only to find the man already staring at him with an amused gaze.

"Are you sure you're not secretly some sort of feline creature? Or maybe a sentient moss ball?" Sanji teased, smirking even as Zoro spluttered and sat up.

"Shut up, cook." He grumbled back. He couldn't even argue back because he had been enjoying the petting.

Chuckling quietly, Sanji tugged the grumpy Marimo back into his lap, resuming the petting without interruptions this time.

xxxxxx

Law sighed tiredly, leaning back in his chair and slowly massaging his temples. Each session required full use of his power and it was taking its toll on him as well.

He hated this but he would have to endure these sessions until Akainu was satisfied.

The siren gave a growl under his breathe at the memory of that infuriating asshole. He wasn't one to bend over and take it...he would get back at Akainu somehow. He just hasn't thought up of a good enough plan with all these "therapy" sessions draining him of all his energy.

Footsteps approached his doorway and Law sat up straight, resting his elbows on his desk and lacing his fingers together. He recognized the swagger of those steps.

Great, more annoyances.

When the redhead barged into the office unannounced, Law only gave him a dark smirk and resigned look.

"What can I help you with today, Eustass-ya? I'm sure you already know that office hours are over. You'll have to come back tomorrow…" Law trailed off and his smirk faltered when Kidd sauntered over and dropped himself unceremoniously into the empty chair in front of Law's desk.

Silence rang in the room and the tension was building even as both men did nothing but stare at each other.

Law really didn't have the patience for such games with the man and he dropped his pleasant facade. Kidd, though he's only known the man for a short amount of time, always seemed to be able to tell when he was acting and it unnerved him.

With a scowl, Law stood up and grabbed his stuff. He paused when his hand touched his nodachi, entertaining the thought of murdering the redhead in cold blood before shaking himself out of his bloodthirsty desires.

As if sensing his intentions, Kidd opened that dumb mouth of his, testing Law's patience.

"You and I both know why we're here, Law. Don't play dumb."

Gritting his teeth, Law headed for the door, intent on opening it and exiting as fast as possible.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Eustass-ya."

Law wasn't fast enough though, because instead of meeting the cold air of the hallways he crashed into Kidd's chest instead.

Glaring up at the man, he internally cursed the speed of the basilisk even as said basilisk's eyes bore into his.

He knew the legends and myths surrounding those startling yellow eyes but intellectually he knew they were just that, myths.

However, in such close proximity and with that intense gaze on him, he couldn't help the shiver that ran up his spine.

Kidd only grinned maliciously, stepping forward for every step Law retreated.

His glare hardened, and he was tempted to use his siren voice. It wouldn't work though, he'd already tried the first several times Kidd came to bother him, a fact that really annoyed him.

"So...why don't you tell me what a siren like you is doing as a therapist?" Kidd had him cornered and it activated his fight or flight instinct.

Giving up on any pleasantries, Law lashed out, his sword unsheathed and tilted dangerously against Kidd's throat before both of them could blink.

A drop of blood welled out of the shallow cut and dropped onto the floor, the only indication that Kidd was hurt at all because the man still wore an infuriating dark smirk.

"I think you know when to stop prying. The less you know, the higher your chances of staying alive." Law's calm tone belied his dark intent.

Taking a deep breathe, Law backed away and sheathed his nodachi again, though he itched to just slice the man into pieces.

Kidd's smirk dropped, his face serious as he addressed Law again.

"Why are you really here, Law?"

"I'm here to help the students through their trauma. I am a therapist and that's all there is to this." Law replied back easily as he headed for the door again, a hand on his arm stopped him though, and his gaze followed that offending limb back up to its owner.

"The Surgeon of Death." Kidd mused out loud, glancing at Law when the man stiffened in alarm.

"Yes, I know who you are." Kidd took advantage of Law's shock to pull him closer, sitting on the desk with Law standing between his legs. He kept a tight hold on Law's arm though, not wanting him to try and escape again.

"I've heard about you, you know? That's why I was so interested in you in the first place. Leader of the Heart Pirates, a gang of criminals. Former surgeon and scientist for the New World Academy. You came from the other campus, the one on the other side of the continent. You used to work for the academy until they discovered your illegal surgical experiments on students. Hypnotize them with your siren powers, cut them open, inspect them for your own morbid curiosity, stitch them back up, and no one was the wiser. I could go on but I know a lot about you, Law."

Law was still tense and unmoving, his mind racing a mile a minute as he tried to think of a way to get out of this situation.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Kidd brought up one of his tattooed hands and almost seemed to nuzzle into his palm.

Entranced and confused, Law allowed him to do that, even as Kidd continued talking.

"I used to look up to you. Fearless and willing to go against those so called government bastards that claim they know what's best for us monsters." This confession seemed to cost something for Kidd too, a moment of vulnerability that he hasn't shown the surgeon so far.

"But now...I don't know what happened but you're nothing but Akainu's bitch." Kidd's words were harsh but it contrasted with the gentle way he still held Law's hand.

Broken out of his shock, Law shoved away from him, angry and humiliated.

"You don't know anything, Kidd." It seemed that Kidd had finally managed to break through the surgeon's stoic front. "So maybe you should shut your mouth before I make sure you're not alive long enough to tell anyone."

Law knew deep down that Kidd wouldn't tell anyone though. He didn't know why he trusted the redhead, even if it was just this, but he did and that pissed him off.

Law opened the door and was about to leave when Kidd's parting words stopped him.

"The Law I knew wouldn't lie down and take it. He would fight back." Kidd drawled out the words low, still perched comfortably on the desk.

Even through his inner turmoil, Kidd's words sparked something inside of him that he thought had died when his crew was taken from him.

A malicious grin grew on his face as he started to form a plan.

Lazily turning back around, he gave Kidd a look that promised hell for those who angered him.

"Oh, I plan to."

With that, Law left.

Kidd, satisfied with what he had come here to achieve, left the office as well.

The door to the office shut with a decisive click, leaving behind no evidence of their confrontation.

There was a sense of anticipation in the air now and both men grinned to themselves as they part ways, looking forward to what was to come.

_TBC_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lack of Zosan in this chapter T^T I needed to write Law's part more because of plot, yup xD. I hope you guys enjoyed the Kidd/Law as much as I enjoyed writing them. This is my first time writing those two so excuse any OOC.
> 
> So for those who know and for those who don't, long story short my health took a turn for the worst and I was hospitalized a few weeks ago. I still don't know what's the problem but I hope it's nothing bad.
> 
> Anyways! Bad news aside, I will try to update more but my health and schooling is taking up a lot of my time :( I will try my best though :D
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has commented or kudos so far! Please do give much love for this chapter too :D Remember, comments and kudos help feed the demon possessing my body and thus increase my productivity :3


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